Vegas Zombie
by Edoquin Dissital
Summary: When Elle's Fiancee is turned and killed in a crash she encounters survivors. In attempt to rescue them she makes her way for the evacuation site, meeting up Ellis who was separated from his group. Mature situations, Some yaoi. Please Rvu orig. Survivors
1. Chapter 1

**Note: I remade this story because the original is poorly written. I'm only keeping the original up for now because I look at the chapters as I rewrite them. Once I'm done rewriting them they will be deleted, thank you.** **Also, if you could review please, :3 I like reviews and so does Ellis. I am rewriting this for you 3**

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><p>Left 4 Dead<p>

Chapter 1

The screen of the large flat screen tv flickered against the dim walls of the apartment. All was silent except for a local news report. Alarming images were shown to the public but only on a channel that adults were allowed access to. The news reporters seeming panicked as the overhead view of two cities were shown, all of their residents had gone completely insane, attacking, and devouring each other.

"It seems like the entire state of Pennsylvania has been overrun by, dear God, zombies!" A fairly young woman, clutching her necklace spoke, her voice quivering. The necklace had a cross on it from what was seen in the last of the news reports she anchored for.

"Not just there, but I hear in New Orleans too. I pray that any survivors will-" The screen went blank as it powered down. Elle stared at the blank screen, her eyebrows furrowed. Sitting down on the bed she focused her gaze at the floor. Zombies? No, zombies were supposed to be fictitious creatures, made up only for a movie franchise or some horror video game. There wasn't a possible way for it to exist. There wasn't a way in hell it could be real. But they had proof. Proof of the living dead. Proof of the infected individuals. Her heart pounded harshly in her chest.

"Zombies?" Next to her, the phone rang. She jumped, the sudden alarm causing her stomach to leap up into her throat. Clasping a hand over her chest she willed it to go back down as she sighed a breath of relief. Grabbing the phone she pressed it to her ear and croaked. "Hello?" She waited for a reply, the phone crackling a bit. Her heart started racing all over again as she wrapping her fingers around the towel she had clad herself in. "Hello?" She tried again, this time her voice a quivering whisper.

"Hey baby, how are you?" A males voice came through, finally the crackling stopped. She sighed again and smiled at the sound of his warm voice.

"I'm…" She thought about it, looking up at the off TV. "Good, and you?" She pushed herself to her feet, her head still focused on the news. She drifted towards the full body mirror in the corner of the room.

"I'm fine. You doing anything later on tonight?" She stopped and stared at her reflection. She let his question drift off. She stared at herself. Instead of her apartment she saw behind her, she saw a ruined city, dead bodies and of course, the undead bodies behind her. She imagined, what it would be like being stranded in a place like that. Being a survivor in the midst of a catastrophe that would have required you to kill people. But the news anchors had specifically stated that those two areas were closed off. There would be no way for people to get in, and no way for the infection to get out. "Elle." She jumped again, his voice sounding louder in her ear than it had before. She closed her eyes rubbing her forehead.

"Yes?" He was silent. A slight growling noise could be heard in the background, then a clicking. She stared off ahead of her, her heart stopping dead in its tracks. "Jason?" She whimpered. It was silent for a split second before a clicking noise could be heard then a deep sigh.

"Sorry, dropped my phone." She sighed as well, only sounding relieved. "You sure you're ok?" Dropping her towel she clicked her teeth a bit, her eyes adverted from the mirror and back on the TV.

"Have you heard about the news they released today? About New Orleans and Pennsylvania?" He grunted a bit. Usually when he did that it was a sign he didn't know what she was talking about. He did that often when she brought up the good times they had in high school and he didn't remember. He didn't remember much outside of making out and her denying him sex.

"No, I didn't hear. What happened?" He didn't really sound like he cared which irritated her. More often then she would have liked he held that kind of tone with her too.

"Well," She started off matter-of-factly. "apparently our government has been keeping a secret. Apparently an infectious outbreak hit those areas." He gasped. Now he was interested.

"Oh God, what kind of disease? Are they working on a vaccine for it? Is it air born?" Bending down she picked up her towel and started to dry herself off with it.

"Everyone turned into zombies." She replied. He went silent again. This time she didn't hear any clicking, or thudding, so good chance he didn't drop it. In the background she could hear the growling again and her heart starting to pound.

"Zombies…really Elle? _Zombies_?" He started laughing. Her heart fluttered now, embarrassment mixing with the panic that was there before.

"Jason I'm not joking, stop laughing!" She cried out, the pace of her heart making the words tight in her throat as she nearly lunged at her reflection in the mirror, her fists clenched. "It's on the damn news!" She felt her eyes water. He always did this. The things that scared her half to death, he laughed at. It was torture for her.

"Fine Elle, fine I'll watch the news before I get off the plane, alright?" He chuckled. She sniffled and squeaked as a reply, wiping at her eyes. "Are you still coming to pick me up?" he added, trying to change the subject before she could break down in tears. Stopping she stared at herself in the mirror, her face mirroring how she felt. Doomed.

"Oh baby, I forgot. I'll be there, I promise." She forgot a lot of things and that made him upset. Groaning he cussed lightly under his breath as if he were trying to keep her from hearing how angry he really was.

_It's going to get you killed one of these days._ He'd told her over and over again. Sometimes he got so mad at her that he made her cry. One time, he even hit her. She didn't appreciate it, but after a good 20 minutes of coaxing her out of the bathroom he managed to talk her into seeing it the way he did. She'd forgotten to pick him up from work and he got angry because he had to walk a block in the rain. She could see why he got angry like that. His keys and apartment card ended up soaked. He had to use the keys while the landlord made a new card for them. "Fine, I'll see you in two hours." He hung up.

Turning the phone off she placed it on the kitchen table and headed for the bathroom. She didn't want to leave the apartment now after the whole zombie announcement, but she knew she couldn't force Jason to find his own ride home when she had promised she'd be there to pick him up. That would only get him even more angry, and being stuck in a small apartment with a man who wouldn't be afraid –or stop at- hitting you wouldn't be a good thing. _Don't fan the fire_. She often told herself.

Slipping into a thick strapped dress with a miniskirt, she towel dried her hair and ran a straightener through it, straightening it to that it was paper straight. She brushed her bangs off on the sides, tucking them out of the way and pinning them back with barrettes'. Taking a deep breath she slipped on some dressy shoes and strapped them around her ankles. Grabbing her cellphone she searched the dress over and sighed. She had no pockets. Grabbing her car keys and debit card she tucked her cellphone and card into her bra, making sure the area around the ribs were tight enough so as not to let her possessions fall. Heading for the door she stepped out and locked it behind her, stashing the house key in her bra as well. Heading down to the car park she located her Chevy and climbed in. Starting it she pulled out and slowly headed for the airport, her eyes skimming over the crowds of happy people. Children, dog owners, happy families enjoying their weekend.

Just as she pulled into the parking lot, she felt that doomed feeling like she'd forgotten something. Seeing the crowds of people, she finally understood what it was. She'd forgotten her gun.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Infection in McCarran International

Pulling up outside of the airport, she climbed out, her keychain wrapped around her hand to hide the fact her knuckles were turning white. She followed behind a man towards the door, keeping her distance from anyone who looked suspicious, feeling ridiculous. Pushing the door open, he stepped off to the side and smiled, letting her go in. She smiled and bowed her head as her way of silently saying _thank__you_as she walked by.  
>The airport was full, as was to be expected. People getting onto planes, people getting off, but all the same there were loved ones either joining each other once again, or leaving them. She took a seat in the front row closest to the gates her fiancée would be exiting and waited, her fingers crossed in her lap. Her eyes skimmed the crowd, hoping she didn't miss him. But there was that lingering feeling that something was going to go wrong. That feeling she had the day she resigned and took a desk job in the military.<br>Beside her a man sat down. He was fairly attractive with short black messy hair, probably in his early twenties. His bangs were bleached pure white, and a silver cross earring hung from his ear. He was wearing black minister robes with a high collar. But it seemed weird for a priest to have dyed his eyes shifted towards her. Feeling her face flush she looked away, wondering if he realized she was staring. In his lap was a bible, underneath it, a leather book. He continued to look at her, making her feel uneasy.  
>"You look nervous, child." He spoke. His voice was low and just as attractive as his physical appearance was. She nodded a bit, shifting.<br>"I'm sorry for staring father." Her eyes drifted to her crossed fingers in her lap.  
>"Don't be, you have every right to look, just as you have every right to speak and breathe." He smiled. She returned his smile and looked down at her hands which were cradled in her lap. Her skin prickled, her muscles tense as people sat on the other side of her, or in the seats in the row behind hers, or as children ran by her. Jumping when someone would cough, her head shooting up in their direction. He cleared his throat, her head snapping up to look at him. He looked at her with a curious glance and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Do you mind telling me what has got your nerves in a bundle my child?" He moved his hand down, resting it on hers, the heat calming her down a bit. She exhaled, closing her eyes. She didn't want him to judge her negatively, but it wasn't a good thing to keep inside of her. She didn't want the paranoia to make it physically impossible for her to be around people once it built up.<br>"I guess…I'm superstitious." She looked back down again, twiddling her thumbs a bit. "I'm afraid mainly..for what's going on in Pennsylvania, and in New Orleans."  
>"You mean with the flu" She looked up quickly, shocked he knew what she was talking about and nodded. She hadn't thought that word had spread around so quickly, not when everyone was seeming so calm now.<br>"Yes, but…how did you know?" Sighing, he leaned back, running his fingers through his poly-dyed hair.  
>"It…is a common fear of mine as well. Although the Lord is on my side, although he loves me, I cannot help but feel that it is his punishment for us. This infection. This…illness that is making millions suffer. I fear it will spread, I fear that the evil will consume us as well." He looked off towards the flight gates. He smiled, shaking his head, his eyes staring off across the room. "I believe that whoever is supposed to live will live. This is the lords' rapture. I feel that it is finally our time to reap what we have sown, but I cannot help but fear it. What will become of the non-believers? What will happen to those who have not found God? What will happen to those whom have not been born, their chance at life ripped from them." He looked down at his bible, gripping it until his knuckles turned white. "I guess they will be born, and grow in God's kingdom. I do not fear for myself. I know I will enter God's kingdom, but what of everyone else? That is what I fear." He trailed off.<br>Hearing his words left her a little unsettled, but his confidence that he will be fine, even accepting death stirred up some old feelings she had inside of her many years ago. Back when she used to attend church service's every Sunday. He looked up again as if realizing that he'd wandered off into something much more personal than she'd asked for and felt he needed to apologize for it. "Sorry, you were looking for comforting words and I probably made things worse." Shaking her head she looked off towards the flight gates as well.  
>"No, it helped a lot." Standing she smiled at him, swallowing a bit. She felt that same religious sense she used to, but she knew that from what he'd said, she was one of the people that he feared for. She was one of the non-believers. One of the damned. "My name is Elle, by the way." She held her hand out to him, feeling rude for not introducing herself sooner and wanting to change the subject quickly.<br>"And I am Father Palmer." He returned her smile, taking her hand, shaking it firmly. "May we live a healthy, long and prosperous life." She nodded. Turning she headed towards the gates wanting to distance herself from the young priest. Though he was nice, some of what he said made her dwell on the negative and in the end only made her stomach swoon in paranoia and fear.  
>Her eyes connected with a familiar body as it slipped through the crowd. She smiled, also wading through the crowd, trying not to be knocked around too much as he attempted to reach it. She felt a flutter of joy surge through her as she slipped by people, being pushed into other bodies as she reached for him, her small frame buried in the title-wave of weary travelers. "Jason!" she called out, trying to catch his attention once he started for a different direction. He stopped once he heard her voice and turned in attempts to find where her voice was coming from. Spotting her he made his way through the crowd, smiling warmly at her. Reaching out he grabbed her so he wouldn't lose her as he headed for the edge of the crowd.<br>"Jesus, the people crowding is awful today, like their waiting for the end of the world or something." He laughed. She groaned, those words not being the ones she wanted to hear from him the first time meeting him in a month. He stopped and laughed again. "Sorry about that Elle," He kissed her forehead. "I forgot you were going through your conspiracy moment." Glaring she pulled away, her lips puckered a bit.  
>"You're such a dick Jason; I don't know why I even bother with you." Turning, she headed the other way, shaking him off. He knew just the right words to insult her. Of course he never took what she said seriously. Just a year ago she'd gone through a scare that she'd be sterile after receiving a gun shot to the pelvis area. Jason said at least they didn't need to worry about buying diapers or wasting money on condoms. He sighed and followed after her.<br>"Elle, stop." He bumped into something and stumbled a bit, inhaling deeply. "Shit!" He looked back, his sleeve ripped, a cut on his pale flesh. She turned, her eyebrows furrowing in concern.  
>"Are you ok?" She walked over, taking his arm, looking at it. It was an odd shaped cut, not very deep, more like a scratch as if someone had dragged a long jagged fingernail down his arm. He nodded, smiling. He had a beautiful smile. He was a jock type, short blonde hair and blue eyes. He wasn't originally from the Vegas area. That was obvious by the lightness of his skin.<br>"I'm fine babe," He took her hands, looking meaningfully into her eyes. "We're going to be ok. They have both New Orleans and Pennsylvania barred off. No more people are escaping from there. No people are getting out; no one's getting in, so relax. We'll be alright." He spoke softly. He knew she was afraid of the news. Seeing it on TV was even frightening to him, but he didn't want her to see that it was bothering him. Sighing she nodded, closing her eyes. She trusted him, she always had, and she knew he was right. Smiling she squeezed his hand and laughed lightly.  
>"You're right. I should be ashamed for having so little faith in our government." She turned, leading him to the door, still holding onto his hand. Chuckling lightly he followed, linking his fingers with hers.<br>"Our Government might not be too good with doing anything else, like balancing our national budget, but keeping people out of places they shouldn't be and killing those who wrong us are definitely their strong points." Pushing the door open, she stepped out into the sun, grimacing as the light burned her eyes a bit. She hadn't seen Jason in quite a while, not since before his trip to Alaska. She was excited to be with him again. He was her boyfriend, 7 years running. She had just recently been engaged to him and she was overjoyed to see him again.  
>"Do you want to stop for some food?" She smiled, looking back at him, walking across the parking-lot, her heals clicking against the pavement.<br>"Sure, food sounds good." He smiled in return following her to the car. Reaching the car he stretched his arms out forward and wrapped them around her waist, kissing her neck. "Although you look tastier." Her cheeks flushed as he squeezed her tightly from behind. She squirmed a bit, feeling eyes on her even though the only people in the parking-lot had their backs to her.  
>"Stop." She whined, trying to push him away. Obeying he let her go and smiled at her. "I don't want you to do that." She turned around looking at him, leaning with her back against her car.<br>"Baby, we're going to be getting married soon and we're not even doing intimate stuff like we should." He leaned forward, one hand on the car, standing in front of her in almost a dominant sort of way. She shook her head, her forehead crinkling. She'd gone over it with him multiple times and hated that he didn't listen to her. She didn't want to have sex until she was married, and he was so hell bent on getting it out of her sooner.  
>"I told you why I don't want to; you have to respect my wishes." Gently pushing him back, she gave him the keys and went around to the passenger side. Climbing in she slammed the door and buckled up. Sighing he clenched the keys tightly in his fist, his knuckles turning white. She pissed him off sometimes. He's often contemplated beating the shit out of her and taking what he wanted from her by force, but he valued his life out of jail more. Plus, she was the hottest girl in his graduating class, has been for a long time. But the only reason he started dating her was because rumor had it she was a slut. He found out differently.<br>Climbing in he shut the door and turned the car on. She was silent, looking out the window as they headed across the airport parking lot then down the free-way. He didn't say anything either. Neither of them made a sound as they traveled, the trees rushing past them. The mood in the car seemed cold for some reason which irritated her a bit. She hated when he sulked after being rejected, but again, she wasn't sure if it was her he was mad at or not. She sighed. "I'm sorry Jason. I know you want to be intimate, I know you do, but please, just a little while longer." He stayed silent. Nibbling on her lip she looked down at her lap, picking at her clothes. She knew he was mad, she just wished he wouldn't give her the silent treatment. She never could deal with that, not since they were in high school together.  
>She wasn't used to people being mad at her, friend or stranger. Of course, she never really aimed to make people angry with her either. Sometimes it just happened. She'd end up hearing something in high-school which she was told was true, then someone would turn around and yell at her for spreading rumors. Or when a friend would speak to her then twist her words around horribly then the other person on the other end of it would be pissed off at her for something she didn't say. She just wished he wouldn't do it to her right now.<br>The car started to drift. Looking up she noticed that the buildings were getting farther away. Concerned she saw that they were drifting into the other lane. "Jason?" She gasped, her fingers digging into her seat. "Jason get on the right side of the road!" She squealed. Suddenly hands grabbed her from the drivers' seat followed by a deep snarl. Whipping her head around she stared into a pair of black eyes and grey skin. His nails dug into her as he leaned over, his teeth bared like a rabid dog, stuck in the seat by the seatbelt he wore. She screamed, snapping her arms out to shove him away, her heart racing. A loud honk caught her attention. Looking up and out of the window, she saw a tractor trailer heading her way. Screaming she closed her eyes and covered her face waiting for impact.  
>They collided. The impact sent the tiny car spiraling off the road and into a ditch. The car flipped, crushing the roof down. Slowly it skid to a stop and everything was silent. She groaned, her head hurting from the collision, the movements whipping her around and the crash leaving shattered glass in her flesh and ringing ears. The front end was all crushed up, pinning her legs to the inside of the door. The only way she could have gotten out is if she were to recline the seat and crawl out through the window.<br>Hazily she looked over, tears trickling down her cheeks, expecting to see him dead but what she found was a lot more horrifying. His arm was gone, bleeding all over the interior of the vehicle. Again he turned, snapping at her, his seat belt broken. Gasping she brought her arms up the best she could to block his attack but the sudden bang of the deploying airbag made her jump. She caught just in time the airbag snapping out, hitting his side, snapping his neck. An instant kill. She stared at the blood and still body of her soon to be husband, now zombie. Shaking she laid her head back, her vision turning red, then black as shock set in, leaving her in horror filled darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

When Elle woke up it was dark. Next to her was the stinking, already decomposing corpse of what was once her fiancée covered in flies. Wincing at the pain she looked down, her body covered in cuts where the glass was still burning her flesh like a ravaging fire. Whimpering she reached down and unclipped her seatbelt, her fingers cold as death. It was surprising, usually accidents of that nature usually had an ambulance called or the police. Why had no one gone to help them?

Gently lowering herself down –her car upside down still, her head crunched from the crushed roofing- she crawled through the broken window on her belly the best she could, being careful not to cut herself open too bad on the broken shards that were still in the window frame like embroidering lace on a dress. There was no sound of traffic and in the air was a heavy sulfur smell. Pushing herself stiffly to her feet, her heels digging into the soft ground, she looked up. All along the highway were abandoned cars. There was no one in sight save for a few people farther away. Farther down the road was a police car, parked in the grass. It looked as if they had driven off the road and skidded to a stop. A bad feeling arouse in the pit of her stomach, her chest hurting. Carefully she began to make her way towards the vehicle, making sure not to twist her ankles up from the ground. She slowed down as she approached it, her heart racing as the shadowy figure of a person could be seen through the windshield. The passenger side window was rolled down, and inside behind the wheel was a male officer, his throat ripped open, blood staining his blue officer shirt. Gasping she pulled away from the car, turning her back on it, her hands over her mouth.

Tears trickled down her cheeks as she struggled to keep herself from screaming. Her nightmare had come true. She had always been afraid of zombies. Ever since she was a little girl she'd been afraid of zombies and other kinds of ghouls. Movies like Resident Evil and Dawn of the Dead horrified her, and here she was the main character of a zombie movie, tragically stuck in the middle of a possibly already horribly infected hell hole. Swallowing she removed her shaking hands from her face and turned to face the car. She wiped away the tears from her eyes and leaned into the car, her legs shaking. The smell of death made her gag, but she fought against it as best as she could. Reaching forward she grabbed the mans gun from the holster he wore on his hip and searched around him for ammo, scoring a case of pistol bullets in between the seats. It was a start, but it wouldn't last her long. Pulling back she took a deep breath of fresh air and opened the door, climbing in. Shutting the door she grabbed the radio and closed her eyes, trying to calm the violent pounding of her heart.

Pushing the button located on the side of the device she spoke into it, hoping and praying to God that someone would be on the other end of that radio. "H-hello, this is Bullhead City Resident Ellememe Montserrat. Can anybody hear me?" She waited, the cold seeping into her flesh, causing her to shake even harder than she was before. The radio crackled a bit and fell silent. "Can you hear me?" She tried again, a small shimmer of hope igniting inside of her. The radio crackled again and a man spoke.

"Who are you? Who authorized you to use this line? This is a military line I hope you know." He snarled. A military line, which meant this officer must have been trying to contact them before…well, before he died.

"I realize this is a military line sir." She replied, her eyes skimming the cars around her, waiting to see if someone would emerge.

"Then what in the blue hell are you doing talking on it!"

"Sir, we're currently in a bad situation here, all along the freeway leading from McCarren Airport are abandoned cars-"

"Get the fuck off my line it is not for civilians! You are not authorized to use this line!" he growled interrupting her.

"Shut up!" She shrieked, panic setting in. "Sir you are being a son of a bitch! I'll have you know that I'm more than a civilian! I have been an Army Secretary for three god damn years, now listen to me!" Suddenly a shadow smashed into the side of the car, tipping it. Screaming she grabbed the seat, dropping the radio, her head whipping around to see an infected individual attacking the car. She pushed herself away from the window, screaming. In return the infected screamed, reaching in for her. Grabbing the gun she cocked it and fired, landing the bullet in between the eye, brain matter spraying from the hole in the back like confetti then fell to the ground, silent. She panted looking at the blood splatters on her legs. Frantically she grabbed the cup of coffee in the holster by the stick shift and splashed it on her legs, rubbing at the blood. She didn't want to risk the infected blood infecting her as well what with the cuts from the accident she was in.

"Ma'am! Ma'am what is going on!" The military man barked on the other side of the radio, his voice muffled by the fabric of the drivers seat. Shaking even harder than she was before she grabbed the radio once more.

"We need some God damn assistance." She cried, wiping at the tear gushing down her cheeks. "There are zombies running around. We need an evacuation right away. We need to get the last of the survivors out before we end up like New Orleans of Pennsylvania." She grabbed the officers jacket which was shoved off onto the floor at her feet and dabbed at her coffee covered legs, drying them, waiting for a response.

"Shit. Are you serious?" He cussed, fear in his voice.

"Yes sir," She replied. "I'll look around to see if I can't find any survivors. Contact Lieutenant Bomber and tell him that Ellememe Montserrat is doing that."

"Rodger, and I'm really sorry about that Elle. I didn't recognize your voice. You hang in there. There's a weapons store not too far away, stay alive, get some ammo and guns." She looked up at the cars, starting to see more and more infected starting to crowd around. She closed her eyes, unable to hold her tears back. She shook her head, swallowing.

"Ok, alright. I'll be ok." She replied, trying to convince herself more than him. "It's going to be hella hard, but I'll try."

"Don't die on me." Suddenly the radio cut out. She gripped the radio tightly, shaking not wanting to be left alone but she knew she had to go. If she didn't, she'd be killed. Holding her breath she turned and opened the officers' door, shoving him out onto the ground. If there was one thing she knew, she definitely wasn't going to be walking without back up.

Sliding into the drivers seat she rolled up the passenger window and shut the door again, trying not to make too much noise. Unfortunately, the moment the door slammed, a crowd of infected stopped and looked up. They raced towards the car, their mouths open in vicious snarls. Gasping she quickly turned the key in the ignition. The engine roaring, then stalled. "No! No no no no," She punched the steering wheel, her head pounding. The crowd got closer. Grabbing the key she turned it again, the car hesitating to start. "Come on!" She shrieked, bouncing. The engine kicked in, humming. Slamming her foot on the gas she raced off along side of the road, running zombies over left and right. Some smashing the windshield with their collision so that it was almost impossible for her to see but she kept going.

She could hear the sound of bones snapping as she hit bodies. Blood splattering and spraying as she severed limbs with the bumper of the car. The car raved on, breaking out to the town. She swerved up onto the road once she found a break of traffic in the freeway. After a few minutes of driving, her foot to the floor, dodging other parked cars along the streets she found the hunting range. Slowing down, she stopped the car, the vehicle shutting off automatically in surrender to the beating it took. It took a minute or two for her to remove her whiled knuckled fingers from the steering wheel, her fingers cracking once she did like a skeletons'.

Opening the door she climbed out. It was silent. Inhaling she rushed the best she could in her heels into the building. Turning she quickly shut and locked the door. A gun shot went off, a bullet whizzing by her head, marking the wall. Screaming she threw herself to the floor, dodging anymore bullets that could possibly follow.

"Who the hell are you?" A young voice snarled. She quivered, then looked up. A young boy, maybe 15 or 16 years of age was standing behind the service counter, a shot gun pointed at her. He was a thin framed boy with earlobe length hair that was flat cut along the bottom and straight cut bangs. He was an Asian boy, wearing dressy clothes. A pair of black dress shorts that were knee length and a white button up shirt. Behind him was another boy who looked exactly like him. Twins. "I said who the hell are you girl!" He growled again, his voice hinting at an Asian accent.

"Put the gun down, I'm not one of them." She slowly raised her hands, trying to coax him to put the gun down, her heart racing.

"That doesn't answer my question." He replied, his eyes narrowing, his voice sounding violently intimidating. His brother reached forward, grabbing his arm.

"Kiku stop, put the gun down, maybe she can help us." His voice was soft and higher pitched. Kiku hesitated, removing his eyes from Elle only for a split second then put the gun to his side, his forehead crinkled with distrust. The kinder of the two turned and looked at her. "Sorry about my brother, we…are kind of stressed." He apologized, bowing to her. She nodded and carefully pushed herself to her feet.

"I understand." She brushed herself off, keeping her eyes on the boys. "Do you two need back up?" She figured that this would be a good time to recruit them so she wasn't alone. Not only that, but she couldn't leave them on their own, but Kiku didn't seem like he was going to accept. He snorted, shaking his head.

"We don't need your help. Come on Iruki, let's go." He grabbed more bullets, filling up his messenger bag with them, dumping his school books on the floor and replacing them with hand guns and whatever first aid supplies her could get.

"You can't go out there alone kid, not without someone who know what they're doing. You'll only die." Elle whispered, her voice hard as she stood stiff. He glared at her again.

"If we die we die, but we don't need you. You ain't no savior lady so just piss off." He stood and shouldered his bag. Grabbing his brothers hand he headed for the back door. Sighing she grabbed a bullet bag and loaded it up with machine gun ammo and two magnum pistols, slipping in some first aid equipment and followed.

"I'm not letting you go out there alone." She confirmed. He stopped and turned on her. Approaching her he brought his hand up in a threat to hit her, but a screech stopped him. With the blink of an eye the boy was on the ground. A hoodie clad infected on top of him, tearing at his chest and arms. The boy screamed, trying to shove him off. Iruki fumbled for his gun and shot, missing the zombie all together. He tried to load another bullet but his hands were shaking too bad. Shocked, Elle grabbed her pistol and fired, planting a bullet into the back of the attackers' skull. It shrieked, then went rigid, falling off to the side. Kiku panted, groaning in pain. Rushing over his brother grabbed him and pulled him to a sitting position.

"What the hell was that!" He cried, grabbing the claw marks on his arms. Bending down, Elle examined the body of the infected and saw that it was different from the others. Sharp bloody teeth and red eyes along with claw like fingers. She frowned, knowing what it was. She had received a few documents on them through the military. Although she didn't know what the information was describing, she could put them together.

"The survivors call it a Hunter." She replied, standing, her hands clutching the pistol tightly.

"The survivors? A Hunter? What the hell is going on here?" Kiku cried. She felt sympathy for him, and for his brother. There they were, in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, not knowing anything about what's going on. She looked back down at the hunter corpse and shook her head.

"I don't know exactly, but whatever's happening here is happening in New Orleans and Pennsylvania." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, ready to explain everything she knew. "From what I understand, a virus broke out which destroys a humans ability to reason with anything, their only need is to feed, and only god knows what. According to reports, some people are carriers; some are immune to the virus. The Documents I read stated that there are 8 _Special__Infected_, I guess what they were called. The Smoker, Spitter, Boomer, Jockey, Tank, Charger, Witch and the Hunter." She looked down. "Each of them have special abilities I'm guessing. The Hunter can pounce you, the Spitter spits acid, The Smoker has a really long tongue, The Boomer vomits and attracts hordes of regular infected, The Jockey humps you, The Charger of course, charges you and smashes you against things, The Tank is all muscle and no brain, the ability to smash through cars and things like that, and The Witch cries. When you startle her she becomes hostile and tries to kill you." Looking confused and slightly suspicious Kiku frowned.

"And how do you know this?" He questioned.

"I'm a secretary for the Army; it's my job to look over documents. Of course, I read through them thinking they were gag documents and not understanding that they were actually connected with this." She stopped, and looked at them. Reaching out she grabbed the boy and hauled him to his feet. "Come on, sitting here won't get us anywhere. I contacted base, or managed to get in touch with them. They are organizing an evacuation out of the city." She patted him down and grabbed his gun, handing it to him. "I'll take you too it. We'll have to work together to get through this. Are you ready?" She smiled, hoping that even the slightest bit of optimism would help boost their morale. They stared at her confused for a second, then smiled. Cocking his shot gun Kiku nodded.

"Lock n Load baby." Iruki grinned, nodding once, following his brother's lead. Smiling, Elle turned, racing down the hall to the back door of the building. Things looked a lot less grim now that she wasn't alone. Now she had someone to protect. Now she had a reason for living through this.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Keeping to the darkness Elle led the way through allies, attempting to avoid the infected as best as she could. It was shocking how fast it had spread. It had only been a few hours from what she knew and most of the city was already crawling with them. It certainly left room to wonder.

"Why is it spreading so fast?" Iruki questioned staying close to her, his back pressed against the brick wall of a building. Iruki and his brother were quiet as they traveled, trying their hardest not to knock cans or stones off to the side, or step on plastic bags or bump into things.

"I'm guessing it attacked the people who were sick first and took over. Then they all just started to gang up on everyone else." She replied, looking back at them, her voice a whisper so that only the young boys behind her could hear. "Either that, or the virus is getting stronger." She looked ahead once more, her clasped to her chest as if she were holding a cross pendant around her neck.

"Well that's just fucking peachy." Kiku hissed, his voice quiet but still there was desperation. His brother looked at him, his eyebrows dipping in a sympathetic way. They were both exhausted, she could tell that from the lax way they stood, leaning against the building for support. Looking out among the crowd of zombies, Iruki whimpered.

"I…I don't think…we can make it." He dropped his gaze, his arms and legs shaking. Elle looked back at him, her heart breaking when she saw just how much he'd given up already. Reaching out she pulled him into a tight embrace, startling the boy as she held him, her cheek rested on the top of his head.

"We'll get through this just fine, I promise. Just aim and fire." She looked down into his eyes. "Run, don't stop. If you can't land a bullet, swing the gun and hit them. I promise, I'll protect you, but I need you both. I can't get through this on my own." He looked at her confused as she grabbed his shoulders, backing him away from her. She forced a smile, looking into his eyes. Truth was, she was terrified as well. She always felt awful for the time, back when she was a field soldier, having to shoot a suicide bomber. It was either take him out, or lose her life. Those these were people, she had someone to protect, and she wouldn't hesitate in shooting them this time. Inhaling she made her way past the twins and headed towards the other end of the alley, the end they'd come up.

"Where are you going?" Kiku hissed, chasing after her. Iruki hesitated at first, but followed.

"We'll go through the buildings." She replied grabbing a hold of an emergency exit ladder she began climbing, her heels making it difficult to climb properly, clinking on the metal rungs as she made her way up to the bottom escape platform.

"Are you nuts?" He called after her, not wanting to raise his voice too much for fear he'd attract the infected's attention. "Narrow hallways mean we'll have less room to function!" Reaching the stop she turned and looked down at him nodding, pushing her long blonde hair behind her ear.

"Yes, we'll have less room to function, but they won't be able to sneak up on us and take us by surprise, plus they'll have less room to maneuver as well. In the streets they have more room to run around and we have a greater chance missing them while shooting at them. We want no surprises. No surprises and no wasted ammo." Turning she headed up the steps, going farther up the building. Kiku blinked watching her go. He was debating on whether or not he should believe her and go with her. But he knew they were dead on their own. Sharing a look with his brother he wheezed, then sighed. Grabbing the rungs he pulled himself up quickly, not wanting to fall behind.

Getting to the top of the platforms Elle checked the door of the apartments, then the windows to see if any of them where open, when none of them budged she stepped back and cussed. "What's wrong?" Kiku panted reaching the top.

"None of the windows or doors are open." She looked back at them for a second before turning her attention back to the windows.

"Just smash them." Kiku snorted. Grabbing his shot gun he cranked his arms back and swung, aiming to smash out the glass.

"No!" Elle grabbed the gun pulling it to a stop.

"Why?" He snarled glaring at her, his finger twisted a bit from the sudden stop, his blood boiling from the pain.

"Why? These things seem to be attracted to noise, if we bust out the windows they'll hear it and we'll have one hell of a time getting away unscathed." She let go then headed for one of the doors. Looking in the windows to make sure no infected were in any of the rooms.

"Then what will we do?" Kiku muttered shouldering his shotgun. He rubbed his finger, his teeth digging into his lower lip. Elle was a lot stronger than she looked.

"We'll just get one of the doors open." She replied pulling her credit card out of her bra. She examined the door closely, signaling Iruki to shine the flashlight he had on the door.

"You keep your card in your bra?" Kiku cocked an eyebrow, his upper lip curling up in disgust.

"I don't have pockets, where else would I keep it?" She looked at him then turned back to the door. Bending down she carefully slid the card in the crack between the door and the door pane. Jiggling the card a bit, she slid it up. Clicking, the door swung open. She smiled victoriously and stepped inside.

"How the hell did you know how to do that?" Kiku questioned, watching her. He wasn't sure if he should trust her if she knew little tricks like that. _Probably__a__robber._ He thought to himself, standing outside of the door.

"My apartment is the same. It was just a guess now come on, the faster we get through this place to a place we can hide the better." She made her way across the room, heading for the door out into the hall making sure to check for survivors or supplies. Slipping out into the hall she stopped, seeing that there were a few infected in the hallways. Inhaling she pulled out her pistol and shot, the sound of the bullet firing off, alerting the infected. Turning they raced towards her. Cussing she switched over to her machine gun and pulled the trigger and mowed them down.

Behind them a howl was heard. Looking over her shoulder, Elle saw a faint outline of what looked to be a Charger heading down the hall. "Kiku!" She screamed over the rain of bullets. Turning she started firing on the Charger. Iruki pulled out his shotgun and unloaded a couple rounds into the Chargers chest and stomach. The regular infected ran up behind them, smashing their fists into Elle's back. Screaming she stumbled but managed to keep the fire pouring into the Charger. Teeth sank into her shoulder, ripping out a huge chunk of flesh and meat. Shrieking she whirled around, hitting them away as the Charger hit the floor. The infected fell back and hit the floor but scrambled to their feet again. Turning she aimed for the infected and killed off the rest, not stopping until not a single one moved. Panting she lowered herself to the floor, grabbing the hole in her shoulder.

"Elle!" Iruki rushed to her side, dropping to his knees next to her. "Are you ok?"

"I'll be fine." She nodded then looked at him, then his brother. "How about you two?"

"We didn't get hurt. Here, let's heal you." Kiku replied pulling the med pack off his back. She shook her head.

"Don't waste it, I don't have nearly as much damage on me as I need to use one of those packs. Just…hand me some pain killers, would you?" Kiku hesitated assessing whether he should use the pack on her or not, then nodded putting the pack back onto his back he pulled out some pills. Handing them to her he pulled out a bottle of water he'd grabbed from the shooting range and handed it to her as well. "Thanks," She opened it and looked inside. "Great, only 4 left." She sighed. "Do we have any other bottles?" She looked at Iruki. He nodded reaching into his bag as well, pulling out a full bottle of pills. "Good we'll need them." She downed the four pills and took a swig of water, handing the bottle back to Kiku. "We need to keep moving."

Pushing herself to her feet she tossed the empty pill bottle off to the side and stepped over the corpses, her ankles twisting a bit in her heels. She debated on taking them off but figured that it wouldn't be a good thing to do seeing how she was even slower barefoot than she was with the heels. She'd rather run slower then to have to worry about her cutting her feet up on glass and rocks. She just have to find different shoes somewhere.

Heading towards one of the other rooms, she noticed that the buildings were rather close. Just big enough to put an alley in between them just big enough to ride a bike down. Going to the window she looked across. There were infected down below her and a huge crowd in the streets. The building beside them was a Days Inn Hotel. Right across from the window she was at was another window that was open. It was just barely within jumping distance.

"What is it? What did you see?" Iruki questioned standing behind her, trying to look around her. Smiling she turned around, brushing her hair out of her face, strapping her gun to her back.

"How we're getting to the next building without being in the streets." He looked at her confused, his forehead crinkling. Kiku shared his look, trying to look out the window like his brother did. "We're jumping." Turning she opened the window and climbed up onto the window sill. Gasping Iruki grabbed her, trying to pull her back off the sill.

"Are you nuts?" He shrieked. "We're _jumping_? I think you're on crack!" She shrugged him off and looked down into the alley. If she messed this up she wouldn't have to worry about landing on the cement at least. She'd have to worry about landing on one of those zombies in which would turn around and try to rip her throat out. She wouldn't be able to get away either, because more than likely her legs would be broken. Or her back, depending on where she landed. Nibbling on her lip she looked at the building across from her and nodded. The window was open and there was a pipe a good leg distance down from the bottom of the sill. It was one of those thick, hefty pipes too, one big enough for a body builder to crawl through and square. She could always land on it, it wasn't that far away, but how much noise would it make?

Crouching she launched herself out. The boys behind her screamed as she sailed across the tiny ally. Landing, she quickly grabbed the window and pulled herself in, trying to cushion the sound of her feet against the pipe when she landed. A couple infected stopped down below and looked up. Unable to see what it was that made the noise they went back to their drifting as if nothing was going on, some throwing up a thick, foul brown vomit that made the alley smell like a sewer and rotting flesh. Turning she motioned the boys to come across next.

Approaching the window Kiku looked down and shook his head, swaying a bit at how far down the ground was. "Aww hell no, we're not doing that you crack head! What the fuck do you think we are? We're not Jet Li or Jackie Chan although you American's like to think we can all run up walls like something from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon!" He snarled, glaring at her. Her forehead crinkled, not appreciating the insult or tone of voice he was using. "We're fifteen year old Japanese kids! We don't even get into fist fights in school!" Pushing by him Iruki climbed up onto the ledge and crouched as well. "No!" he squealed, grabbing his younger brother, pulling him back. "Don't you be like her!"

"Kiku, I'm going to catch him!" Elle hissed back. After all the things she's been through in her life, jumping a small gap was nothing, and his lack of confidence in her was insulting. "Come on Iruki, I'll catch you." Nodding, the boy hesitated and looked down, his legs shaking. He closed his eyes and swallowed, his heart pounding in his chest. He kicked off, the strength in which he used making Elle gasp and pull from the window as the fifteen year old did a dive through the window. He hit the floor, the impact knocking the air out of his lungs as he rolled, landing on his back. He stared at the ceiling and wheezed. "Are you ok?" Elle dropped to her knees by his side, helping him sit up.

"Gap…was…shorter…than…it looked." He groaned. She sighed in relief and smiled at him, shaking her head.

"Good job, now to get your brother over here." Turning she headed back to the window. "Your turn Kiku." She held her hands out. Kiku looked at her doomed. He swallowed and looked down, his fear of heights peaking. He shivered and shook his head. Although his brain was telling him not to do it, his body moved automatically, forcing him up onto the ledge, his fear of being left behind stronger than his fear of falling. Looking up he gave her a pleading expression, one that questioned _'__is__this__really__the__only__way?__'_ "Come on Kiku, I got you." She coaxed him, trying to calm him down, his shaking knees visible to her. He inhaled and nodded. His brother managed to get across with more than enough ease, he could do it to.

Crouching he jumped. Unfortunately when he did his shorts got caught just enough to mess up the length of the jump. He landed on the pipe on the other side of the alley, his shoes slipping as it grazed the side. Screaming, he fell backwards, plummeting to his death.

Lashing out Elle grabbed his hands, keeping him from falling. Unfortunately his scream had attracted the horde. They all looked up. Finally able to see what it was that was making all the noise they growled and headed into the building. They were screwed. Looking over her building she screamed for Iruki to grab her machine gun and fend them off while she helped up Kiku.

Panicking Iruki nodded and grabbed the machine gun. Reloading it to the best of his knowledge her pointed it towards the door, waiting, his finger tense on the trigger ready to pull once he saw the first zombie pull around the corner. Pulling the trigger he began to fire, the bullets flying off into the crowd, sending the bodies falling to the floor.

Digging her heels into the floor she began hauling the boy up, her shoulders cracking from the weight. Behind her the sound of someone gurgling, and gagging echoed over the chorus of hisses and growls. Suddenly she was covered in some hot and sticky goo. Iruki sputtered, shrieking. Turning she looked to see that there was vomit all over him, filling his mouth and eyes. A larger horde than before came rushing in around a fat zombie coming straight for them. "Shit, Kiku I need you to support yourself for a second!" She hissed pulling him up just enough so he could grab the ledge and get himself up onto the pipe. He sat crippled in fear, unable to crawl the rest of the way into the building. Turning she grabbed the machine gun and fired off into the crowd, making sure the fat one was killed first before he decided he was to puke again.

Exploding he sent bile splashing out over the other infected and in turn they started attacking each other. But she didn't stop there, she continued to shoot the regular infected, shaving the crowd down to only a couple left where she finished off those with her magnum. She didn't want to waste all of her bullets.

Coughing Iruki struggled to get the vomit off of him, the sticky thick green goo. The smell of it was awful and the taste was even worse. Leaning over he felt his abdomen thrust, he too threw up. He shivered as his diaphragm thrusted again and found himself emptying out his stomach completely until it was nothing but the taste of his own vomit in his mouth which he welcomed over that infecteds.

"You ok?" She questioned, looking back at him. He just nodded wiping his mouth off, not ready to speak yet. She granted him that and returned to finish helping Kiku in. "You should be more careful Kiku, little slip ups like that can get us killed." She looked into his eyes, checking him over for any wounds. He looked at her angrily and slapped her hand away from him and snarled.

"You think I _wanted_ to fall? You think I wanted to miss and attract that horde? You're so stupid! I did my best, I tried my hardest!" He screamed. Iruki looked at his brother and weighed whether or not he should say something. "I tried my best," he choked. "And you ridicule me like you're my fucking mother." She looked at him hurt, speechless. Dropping his gaze he stared down at his feet. "I hate you. If you weren't the only thing keeping us from becoming dinner then I would take my brother and leave." Pushing by her he grabbed his brother and headed for the door. Elle stood there dumbfounded, staring at the spot he once stood, her hand stinging from where he's slapped it away. She hadn't meant to upset him.

"Kiku." She turned and followed them, shouldering her gun. "I wasn't pinning the blame on you. I don't want you two to get hurt. I can handle it if I get hurt, but if you two do." She stopped. Iruki turned looking at her, his brother keeping his back to her. He hesitated before looking back with his forehead crinkled in anger. "I wouldn't know what to do with myself if you got hurt because I couldn't protect you." She dropped her gaze shamefully, biting her lip. "I will protect you two, I promise." She whispered, her hand rubbing her arm. She shook her head lightly, her eyes closed. Images of Jason flashed in her mind. The rosy complexion of the man she'd loved still fresh in her mind, then fading away into a decaying, grey splotchy color. The jerk of the car, then the snapping of his neck. She struggled to keep the tears back as she looked up at the boys. "I don't want to see that again. Not when I can help it." She whispered then walked by them, her hand rested cupped over the bite mark in her shoulder.

She was trying to be strong for the kids. She was trying her hardest, but in all reality, she was horrified. She wanted to get out of that city and run. She wanted to go to a different country and live, like Japan, or China, somewhere so far away the infected couldn't get to her, but she knew that in time they wouldn't be able to leave.

Heading for an elevator and pushed the button, waiting for it to come down from the top floor. Looking out the window she spotted not too far down the road was a safe house. She frowned wondering when that had gotten there. What that building changed out its doors to put up thick, heavy metal ones. The elevator dinged as it reached their floor. Turning she stopped and looked down. There was a hat covered in blood on the floor of the elevator. She looked at it and picked it up, stepping in. The twins followed but stayed silent. She looked at the hat in question then touched the truck patch on the front.

She felt her heart throb in her chest a bit as she glided her fingers across it. She knew this hat. She knew this hat well.

She drove down the interstate, heading for Florida. Elle never really liked making trips like this because she was alone, not only that but it was so far away from home and her boyfriend. Unfortunately she'd already made the plans with Lexi that they'd get together. She didn't have to be to work for a couple months because of a temporary lay off due to assessments so it was a perfect opportunity for her to take a break. Besides, Jason had started asking to take their relationship to the next level and she felt she wasn't ready for it.

Pulling up to a stop light she waited. For a good fifteen minute she'd been the only one on the road. As she checked the rearview mirror she saw another vehicle which was coming up behind her. At first she dismissed it, but when the buzzing of the trucks muffler became audible her eyes shot back up to the rear view mirror, but it was too late. The guy smashed into the back of her vehicle. Screaming her car shot forward not standing a chance against the mans large truck. Her car rolled forward into the cross way, another car coming down the opposite street smashing into the side of her car, making it spin out. When the car came to a stop, Elle was grasping at the steering wheel so hard her knuckles were white, her complexion just as pale.

A man climbed out of the car and ran to the driver side of her vehicle, pulling the door open. "Man, I am so sorry! Are you ok?" He was a large black man with purple and yellow shirt that said FHS on the left breast. The truck that smashed into the back of her started up his engine which had shut off from the impact and sped off down the road. "Hey! Hey asshole!" The man pulled away from the car, hollering at the driver of the truck. "God damn." He turned and slowly began to uncurl her fingers from around the steering wheel, her knuckles cracking. "You ok? You ok, are you hurt?" He questioned. She was shaking, her eyes wide. She carefully took in a deep breath and exhaled, shaking her head.

"N-no, I think…I think I'm ok." She cupped her hands over her face once they had released the steering wheel.

"Shit, I did not mean ta ram you. I promise you dat." He unbuckled her, pulling her from the car. She grabbed her purse, clutching onto it as if she were afraid that if she left it behind her heart would stop. "Man, you gonna need to get your car fixed. Ain't no drivin it like that." He looked at the damage, sitting her on a bench next to the curb where the car had spun off. "You gonna be ok?" He pulled out a cell phone, flipping through the numbers. She looked at him confused, wondering what he was doing on the phone. Pulling out a small note pad from his back pocket he pulled out a pen and wrote down the address of a couple places and a couple phone numbers.

"What are you doing?" She questioned, hugging her knees tightly.

"There's a hotel not too far from here an' a garage not too far from that." He handed her the slip of paper before looking at his own car. "Oh man, I hope she still runs." He looked back at her. "I'll give ya a ride to the hotel. You'll have to check out the garage by yourself. I don't know how good the service is, but a fixed car is better than a broken one, right?" He carefully grabbed her arm, pulling her to her feet and pulled out his cell phone again. "Hi, this is Coach…yeah shit, nice to hear from you again too Pauly, hey listen, I'm in a tight situation right here now, side swept a poor young thing, scared the bejeebus out of her an' totaled her ride…yeah I need a towin'…nah I'll take care o' this one, you just come down here and fix her up real good ok?...yeah, bring her on up to the impound lot and release her when she gon' get it fixed…alright…alright see you in a bit. Bye." He hung up.

"You're getting it towed for me?" She squeaked. He smiled at her and nodded.

"Yeah, I'mma pay for it, you just settle in at the hotel and relax ok? You check into that number and get your ride all fixed up."

"You don't need to do that." She insisted.

"Shit, it's the least I can do. Can't believe that asshole just up and left though, mhm." He shook his head, not seeming too happy about it. Grabbing her arm he led her to his car, helping her inside. "I'll give you a ride to the hotel." He climbed in on the other side once she was situated and turned his car on. It started for a bit, then stalled. "Ah shit." He muttered then tried again. It roared to life. Giving a relieved laugh Coach patted the dash board smiling. "Ain't nothing keeping this baby down. I'll swing by the tow shop and show Pauly where your car be at ok? The hotel I be bringin' to ain't all that fancy like the ones where you come from, but it's cheap and it's a place to sleep, not to mention it's right next to that garage."

He began driving, a smile on his face as he rounded the corner slowly, driving past her car. "How did you know where I lived?" She looked at him concerned.

"Hell I don't know where you live, but you look like a city girl of some sort. Fancy earrings, nice perfume, pretty fancy dress. Like, like a show girl or somethin'" He smiled at her. She blushed a bit looking down into her lap.

"No, I'm not a show girl, but I am from Nevada."

"Nevada," He mused looking out the window at the road. "Ain't never been to Nevada before. Must be different huh?" He smiled at her again, nudging her. "I'll tell you, ain't much down here in Savannah as far as shows or lights, but we've got some mighty fine people down here. Always saying please and thank you. Got some serious assholes though too, but they rare." He chuckled, pulling into the parking lot of a small run down looking hotel. There was a garage a good twenty yards away down the road. "Here you go little lady. I'll have Pauly give you a call when we get your car all settled in, ok? I'd stay longer but I got class to get to. Can't miss an entire day of school without telling them huh?" He smiled. Nodding she climbed out and shut the door behind her, leaning down to speak through the window.

"Thank you so much for all the help. I don't know how to repay you." He laughed, shaking his head.

"Nah, no need to repay me, after all, it was me who ran into you. Now I hope you can get your car all fixed up and you get to your destination, wherever it is your going." Nodding she bowed and smiled.

"Oh, my name is Ellememe Montserrat." She reached into the car, her hand held out to him. Smiling he took it, shaking it.

"My friends call me Coach, it was nice meeting you, and I hope you can get everything in order." Nodding she stepped back. "Have a good one." He waved and pulled out, heading down the road. Turning she made her way into the hotel and set up an appointment to stay in one of the rooms, explaining her situation to the man behind the desk. Nodding he gave her the key to one of the rooms over looking the road.

Thanking the man she headed up to the room and unlocked it. Looking around she noticed that it was a nice little room. A queen sized bed with a microwave for food and a schedule for house keeping and catering. Sitting on the edge of the bed she sighed. This was exactly the reason she didn't like traveling alone, just incase there was an accident. Not like she ended up in an accident every time she drove, that was her first accident ever, it was just that, incase there was an accident she'd be alone in an area she didn't know with people she didn't know.

Sighing she closed her eyes for what seemed like only a few moments when the phone on the bed stand rang, making her jump. Rolling over she grabbed it and picked it up. "Hello this is Ellememe Montserrat."

"Heya, this is Pauly, a friend o' mine Coach led me to yer car, she's all tucked away nice n' safe fer when yer all set, ok?" He greeted. She sounded pleasant enough, the smile on his face obvious from the sound of his voice.

"Alright. Thank you so much."

"No problem hun, see ya when ya git 'round ta it." He hung up. Putting the phone on the receiver she pushed herself up and headed down to the lobby. She'd might as well go down and talk about getting her car fixed. Not that she didn't like the people, she just felt that she didn't belong.

"Good luck." The guy behind the desk bid as she left. Smiling she bowed her head, thanking him. Heading out she looked down the road, spotting the garage from atop the small hill the hotel was set at. Inhaling deep she headed down the hill, her purse around her shoulder. Reaching the building she stopped, looking at it. Inside the sound of some rock band was playing in the area the cars were being worked on, and the slight tone deafness of the man working under it. Pushing by she headed inside a joint area which seemed to be the office. The music was muffled out by the thick door between the work area and the office. All she saw was a grease stained coverall clad bottom sticking out from behind the counter, singing lightly with the music that was barely heard through the door.  
>She slowly approached the desk but he didn't seem to notice her right away. Not wanting to be rude she waited, but when he didn't straighten up she cleared her throat. He still didn't pay attention. Leaning over the desk she caught a glimpse of his name tag and decided what better way to get someone's attention then to say their name?<br>"Uh, Keith?" He stopped almost immediately and stood up straight looking at her.

"Hey, what kin I git fer ya?" He smiled, car oil smeared across his cheek. She giggled, unable to take the redneck talk and oil smear seriously. He just stared at her as she continued to giggle. "What's so funneh?" She stopped but kept smiling and shook her head.

"You have…oil." She motioned to the smear on his face. He stopped and went to wipe it off, wiping the wrong side. Shaking her head she reached into her purse and pulled out a handkerchief. She wiped at it but it only seemed to make it worse. Grimacing at it she pulled the cloth away and licked it then returned to scrubbing. Groaning he winced, his face scrunching.

"Aww ma, knock it off!" he teased pulling away. She stopped and smiled.

"Keep your face clean, it attracts more customers." He snickered and leaned on the desk.

"What kin I git fer ya?" He repeated his earlier question. She looked around the room seeing all of the new supplies and then looked back at him.

"I was wondering if you could fix up my car? I got into a pretty bad accident on my way to Florida by a guy who refused to stop behind me, pushing me out into the on coming lane." Keith just smiled and itched his nose.

"What kin'a car we talkin' bout?" Shifting her weight she fixed her skirt then crossed her arms. She was only in a strapless summer dress with a jacket. Her skirt was a little shorter than mid-thigh and she wore a pair of needle heeled pumps. She didn't like dressing like that most of the time, but it was a comfortable outfit for her and the shoes were professional looking incase of something like this. Even though she wasn't fond of it, Keith wasn't wasting any time to look her over.

She was ritzy looking, he noted. She was thin with tanish skin, her hair a dirty blonde color. Her lips were plump and succulent, her eyes an emerald color and she seemed to be more muscle then flesh and bone. Her chest was small, probably a B or C at best, but her back side made up for it. Her thighs were thick and so were her hips. She was built almost as sturdy as a truck herself and in the back of his mind he wondered how far her _gas__mileage_ could take him.

"A 2007 Volkswagen Golf GTI" He inhaled and smiled standing straight. "Ma'am, I will be glad ta fix yer car. That is one car I ain't never gotten a chance to plug myself into and I'll tell ya what. I heard as a _random__car__facts_ type of thing, that that car is great for having sex." He laughed lightly looking down. A voice from the other room called in, sounding fairly young himself.  
>"Stop scarin the customers!" She looked up as a younger male came out. He tipped his hat bowing his head. "G'mornin' ma'am." Elle returned the bow of the head. "Sorry bout my buddy Keith, not ever'day he gets to work on a purty ladies vehicle. So you said it got smashed huh?" He wiped his hands off on his overalls. She nodded, noting he had the same redneck accent, and he was cute too. "Where is it?" He looked out the door as if to find it.<br>"It was towed." He winced looking back at her.  
>"Towed? That means it ain't drivable?" He looked at her with kind of a doomed look. Whether it was doomed or sympathy he felt for the car she couldn't tell. "Oh man, poor girl. I'll git 'er fixed up for ya." She nodded and fished out her purse. She pulled out a couple hundred bills, handing one to Keith and one to the other boy. The boy looked at it shocked then looked at her confused. "Whats this fer?"<br>"Inconvenience payment. I'm kind of rolling in at a bad time, you'll get the payment in full once it's finished. Though I have to admit there are a lot of dents in it." She grimaced a bit. Keith smiled coming up beside his friend, clapping his hand down on his shoulder.  
>"Tis ok sweetheart. My bud Ellis kin bust the dents out of a cherry and make a girl a virgin agin, In't that right?" He snickered, his friend's face turned red with embarrassment at having his body work compared to sex, hoping she didn't think ill of him for it, but she just grinned and shook her head.<br>"Well, hopefully he can fix my _cherry_." She laughed. Ellis's breath hitched for a second, sending his buddy Keith into a laughing fit.  
>"Oh man El," He looked at her and smiled. "Ya need a ride?" He grabbed a set of keys out of his pocket. She shook her head.<br>"Ya gonna walk a mile in them shoe? No ya ain't. I ain't gonna let a lady walk a mile ta get no damn car when I'm capable o'drivin' her." He headed for the door, signaling her to follow. She gave his friend a quick confused look.  
>"Ya better get out there, he might just come and drag ya out. He hates the thought of a lady walkin'. He says it's rude ta let her." She hesitated then nodded, turning she headed out after him, following him to a Chevy truck parked off to the side. It was raised so she'd have to actually climb up.<br>"Here," He opened the door for her, offering help but she just smiled and climbed in, her panties flashing as she steadied herself to put lift her leg far enough to actually climb in to the actual vehicle. "Sorry bout that," He smiled, not really feeling all too sorry about it.  
>"It's obnoxiously high isn't it?" She smiled back down at him, teasing as she settled herself in.<br>"If ya got the means, why not make yerself taller?" He laughed and shut the door for her. Heading over to the other side he climbed in with ease and shut his door, turning it on. She smiled.  
>"It's got a nice sound to it. This a Chevy Silverado 1500?" She looked at it. He nodded, smiling.<br>"Yep, needed a truck that didn' cost me too much ta feed gas into, ya know?" He backed out of the garage driveway and headed down the road.  
>"But don't Silverado's usually get only 17 miles to the gallon?" She looked at him questioning. He nodded.<br>"Yeah, but I know ways ta get 20 to 23 miles on the highway and 17 ta 19 in the city. Pretty hot huh?" He grinned at her. She shrugged, seeming to not care, but it did intrigue her a bit. "Ya know alot bout cars though." He added after a bit. "Surprised really, ain't seen no girl in'erested in cars before, specially none from Nevada." Cocking an eyebrow she looked at him wondering how he knew where she was from. But he just smiled.  
>"How did you know where I lived?" She questioned, her hands in her lap.<br>"Well, the outfit fer one, and the money. Not every girl pulls out bills, 'cept the ones from Nevada. So it was jus' a guess I guess." She nodded and looked out the window. He was quiet for a second before speaking up again. "You uh...goin ta Florida fer a reason?" She noted his wanting to continue the conversation and nodded.  
>"Yeah, I'm going to visit my friend from high school, Lexi." He nodded, seeming interested a bit.<br>"You uh...plannin' on staying in Georgia long?" He played with his finger nail, sitting at a red light before going. She shrugged.  
>"I don't know, however long it takes to get my car fixed." she looked at him, trying to read his expression. "Why?" He copied her shrug and started forward again once the light turned green.<br>"Jus' wanted ta know if you were a rush order." He pulled into the impound lot and parked the truck, turning it off. She smiled and shook her head.  
>"You make it sound like I'm Chinese take out." She giggled, unbuckling.<br>"Ya look damn tasty enough ta be it." He complimented, laughing in return. Jumping out he rushed around to open her door and held his arms up to help her down. She never got this kind of treatment from her boyfriend. Even when they first started going out he never gave her this treatment. Smiling she slid out and landed, falling against him a bit. He caught her and smiled. She felt a strange pulse in her chest as she looked at him. He returned the look, his eyes half closed as he looked down on her. Backing her up, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. She felt a jab to her heart, but her lips replied almost naturally. Pulling away he smiled and removed his hat, running his fingers through his short hair. "Sorry bout that," He apologized. "guess it was kin'a hard ta hold that one back." He laughed gently. She looked down, her hair flooding her shoulders. She smiled as well, her lips feeling numb from the contact. "Well, let's go give them yer info an' have em send the car our way." He took her hand, slowly walking towards the building. She followed, her fingers linking with his.  
>She remembered everything when she looked at that hat. The car accident, meeting Keith, the boys taking almost 2 weeks to fix everything on the car brand new, and even her little excursion. She stopped, feeling tears enter her eyes. She had forgotten that she wasn't a virgin anymore. After all of those years, she had forgotten.<br>"Elle?" Iruki looked at her. She quickly looked up, wiping away at her tears.  
>"Huh?" She clutched the hat in her chest. He nibbled on his lip a bit and shifted.<p>

"I don't mean to rush you but, are we going down? Or are we just sitting here in the elevator?" She looked up noticing that the doors were still open. Gasping she dove for the button and pushed it, checking frantically around to see how much time she had wasted.

"I'm so sorry, was…was I out of it for long?" She looked at them apologetically. Iruki nodded.

"About ten minutes." Sighing she closed her eyes as the doors closed, the elevator heading to the bottom floor.  
>"I'm sorry, just...I was reflecting on my life just now." Inhaling she grabbed the bill of the hat and slid it down on her head. Her blood started pumping, filling her with a warm encouraged feeling. A feeling that she had missed over the years, the feeling she had when she was with Keith. That feeling like she was strong, that she had nothing to worry about. Pulling out her cell phone from her bra -much like she did with her card- she opened it up and scrolled through the numbers. She remembered that Keith had given her his number all that while back, but she didn't remember who he was once she went back to Nevada and settled down with Jason.<p>

Finding his number she held her breath and called it. Putting it to her ear she waited, hoping he didn't get a new cell phone in all that time. It rang and rang. Suddenly the voice mail came on and it was Keith's voice.

"Hi, this is Keith, we ain't takin' business now. If ya see Ellis make sure ta git 'im to the evac in time. I already got out, headin' to Nevada now ta be with ma girl. She probably dun remember me but I'm sure she will. Leave a message an' I'll git back ta ya, or maybe I won't" it beeped. She inhaled deeply. He remembered her. After all of these years he remembered her. She looked at the floor, her eyes closed. He had come to Nevada to see her, so...it was true. This was his hat. She prayed he was still alive.

"Keith," She whispered. "This is Elle, you know, from...those six years back. I...I don't know if you remember me. Please, I found your hat. Get out of Nevada as quick as you can. Head to the evac in Winchester, there the military should be organizing an escape for everyone. Please, be safe." She hesitated, then clicked the phone off. The elevator came to a stop and opened back up.

"Who's Keith?" Iruki questioned, looking at her concerned. She bit at her lip and looked down at her engagement ring.

"Just a friend." Grabbing the bag she left the elevator, heading for the door. Every now and again she'd fire off her magnum, killing an infected. Reaching the door she looked out and saw that that last horde attack must have been all that was in the streets because it was close to empty now. Grabbing the doorknob she shoved it open and stepped out, shooting whatever zombie stood in between her and the door, Iruki and Kiku plucking off the ones behind her.

The hat gave her confidence and made her feel stronger and strangely made her a bit happier. Heading for the safe house next to the building they were just in they rushed in and shut the door, closing it off. Turning she saw that they weren't the only ones in there. A man was staring at them. In the dark light it was hard to see who it was but her heart raced when she saw him and smiled.

"Lieutenant Bomber?" A woman came out of a back room with a bag of bullet shells and stopped, looking at Elle. "Claire?" Elle squealed. She ran over, throwing her arms around the woman, hugging her tightly. The woman -Claire- laughed, hugging back. "What are you doing here?" Elle questioned, backing off of her so she can breathe.

"Well, we're looking for survivors as well as trying to get the hell out of this sector. We were in the middle of shopping when everything went red alert. Apparently the infection has been in Nevada for a while, about two weeks. This is the last area it hit." She looked at the man beside her. Claire was a muscular looking woman. In her 30's or so. She had short black hair and full red lips with a beauty mark on her upper lip. She had a full sized bust, about C's or so and thick hips. Claire was a friend of Elle's while going through basic training for the military. She spent anywhere between 7 months to 3 years as her room mate and they always had a good time together.

She started dating the lieutenant about a year before. Chad Bomber was a muscular man with short hair and beautiful blue eyes. He was kind and courteous to everyone but had a soft spot for Elle, seeing her as a little sister. Claire turned and looked at the twins and nodded, indicating who she'd be asking about. "Who are they?"

Stepping back Elle looked at the twins and smiles. "This is Kiku and Iruki, I found them in a safe house on the road leading out of Boulder City. They're strong kids. We're going to work to get out of this together right?" Elle looked back at her. Both Claire and Lt. Bomber nodded, sharing a look.

"First, I don't mean to discourage you, but we're taking tonight off. We'll be staying here in this safe house over night. Best not to over exert ourselves too much. We'll stock up on supplies and rest here. Chad and I will stand watch for six hours while you three sleep, then you and the boys will stand watch." Claire instructed matter-of-factly. She always spoke like that, but Elle didn't mind. She'd rather have an instruction to follow then friendly advice.

"I'll stand guard by myself. The boys are strong but they aren't that good at shooting. That'll change though." She smiled at the twins then looked at Claire and Chad. "So you'll watch first? I guess that means we sleep first." She headed across the room to a pile of blankets. What they were there for was anybodies guess. Distributing them amongst the three of them she lowered herself down. The twins didn't need anyone to tell them twice before finding a place at each other sides.

"I'll call you when it's your turn." Claire assured her, heading for the safe house doors to stand guard. Elle nodded and laid on her back. She listened to the door open, then close again, then it was silent. For a long time there was no sound except for the light snoring of the boys next to her. Removing the hat from her head she looked at the blood, then the patch on the front. Closing her eyes she pressed it to her nose and rolled over, clinging to it for dear life.

"Keith," She whispered. "I'm so sorry." the tears that had stayed deep inside of her started to surface. Her fear and loneliness starting to come back out. She felt all of her bravery and strength disappear, her energy being sapped out along with it until soon she felt the darkness take her.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Three months before the infection in Nevada:

Ellis screamed, hooting and hollering as he watched the Zombie infested Orleans. He pointed, plopping down on the seat next to Nick. "Take that zombie bastards! Oh man, guess yer snack got away!" Rochelle laughed, watching. Coach just shook his head, fighting against a smile that was beginning to creep across his face, but even Nick couldn't fight back the rejoicing grin as Ellis's cheers filled up the cabin of the helicopter.

"Alright darling, settle down." Rochelle spoke up, leaning back.

"You think we're outta there fer good?" Ellis questioned, finally settling down, a smile on his face.

"We damn well better be! If this pilot turns into a zombie I'm gonna blow his head off and fly this thing myself!" Coach boomed. Laughing Nick shook his head, resting an arm behind Ellis's shoulders, reclining a bit.

"That's if you can fit behind the controls." Snarling Coach slammed a finger in his direction.

"I've had enough of your attitude Nick! You better hold your tongue before you find yourself back down there with the zombies!" He was very serious but the others didn't care. Now was a time to relax and celebrate them being alive. They were being taken to an evac check point to be cleaned off and shipped else where.

After a few hours they landed down in a sealed off area. All of the survivors were cleaned up, given new clothes and tested for infection. The ones who weren't infected got the choice as to where they wanted to go. Alot of people chose the UK or some place in Europe, while a few other people just chose to go either West or to Canada. Nick decided that the best place for him was west. He could play endless games of poker and do what he wanted there. He was a conman after all, and any place that had a government that was partial to consider a death penalty for anything didn't seem like his favored destination.

Rochelle had family in California, she decided it would be best for her to go stay with them. Her aunt and Uncle were always telling her she should go and visit. They got their wish. A really, really, long visit.

Coach had no where else to go. His family and friends were all in Savannah. Or to be corrected, they were all dead. Feeling bad for him, Rochelle conjured up an agreement. She would let Coach go and live with her. Not wanting to impose he refused the offer a couple times, but when Rochelle insisted he took her up on her offer.

And as for Ellis, well, he had no idea what he was going to do. He wanted to find his family, but he figured the best way he'd do that was make sure all of this zombie stuff was under wraps. The infection cleared out and the bodies identified. The government would contact anyone who was alive and related to the infected individuals. But most of all, he wanted to find Keith. Getting a hold of a phone he called Keith's cell phone. When he got the voicemail and heard that Keith was being evacuated out to Nevada he decided that that would be a good place to start.

Ellis sat at the mess hall table, their third meal in shelter of CEDA, and thought about all that had happened. He was happy it was all over with, but it was going to be hard trying to get back into the swing of things as a normal human. He wanted to be able to tell people the story of what happened, but the spreading of the news was strictly prohibited. That was rule number 1 about CEDA. It was a precautionary procedure. The last thing CEDA needed was the entire country going bat shit insane over it and causing chaos. If they could just focus on the infection and nothing but the infection then that would be the best option.

"Hey kid," Nick sat next to him. He was in a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt, no doubtingly clothes given to him by CEDA. Nick smiled at him but didn't say anything, thinking. "Awfully quiet over here by yourself. Whatcha thinking about?" Nick pressed, stealing a bit of stale bread from Ellis's plate.

"Not much really." Ellis replied, pushing his tray over for Nick to pick at it. He wasn't that hungry anyway. He went quiet again. Nick stared at him before grabbing his hat, pulling it off of his head. Ellis didn't respond much to it, although his hand went to his head. Cocking an eyebrow Nick leaned forward and blew a healthy gust of air into Ellis's ear. The redneck pulled away, wiping at his ear feverishly. "What'd ya do that fer?" Ellis pouted a bit, his ear itching.

"Figured I'd blow off some of that steam. I could see the smoke from those gears grinding." Nick teased. Ellis grinned and shook his head, snatching his hat back. His hat was the only possession he was allowed to keep. Of course it was disinfected.

"Very funny Nick." Fixing his hair he pulled his hat back down and turned to face the conman.

"So what are you thinking about?" Nick leaned against the table, his left leg bouncing. "Keith?" Nick guessed, drenching the kids' friends name in a healthy hillbilly accent which caused Ellis to laugh.

"Yeah, called his cell-phone today, s'voicemail said he was gonna go ta Nevada ta be with his girl." He explained. Nick nodded, resting his elbow on the table.

"And you felt betrayed because before the infection Keith promised you and him were going to get married, right?" He questioned, teasing even more. Ellis snorted, smiling.

"Oh yeah, that's it." He turned and rested his elbows on the table as well, pushing himself up so his butt was off of his chair and he was hanging, his stomach and arm muscles tensing up. "Nah, I ain't no queer-o-sexual." Ellis smiled, looking off across the room. Nick laughed. Some of the things out of the rednecks mouth were just so stupid it was funny.

"Queer-o-sexual huh? Is that a whole new level of gay?" Nick snickered. Ellis didn't reply right away which caused Nick's forehead to crinkle a bit. "Do...you hate gays?" He questioned. Ellis looked at him shocked then shook his head.

"Nah, I jus' ain't one of em." He sat back down. He seemed to be lost in thought, staring down at the floor. Nick noticed the troubled look in his eyes, wondering if it was the girl that was causing this confusion in Ellis.

"You...don't like this girl or something?" Nick questioned. He knew what it was like having friends who married bitchy girls. It was almost as bad as losing that friend to a car accident, because the moment that wedding happens, his friend would change and their relationship might as well be dead anyway. But Ellis shook his head.

"No, she's a nice girl. She's...well...somethin' else really. I forgot 'bout her until now. Prolly first girl I ever had a crush on that Keith did." Ellis laughed lightly. Nick nodded, looking at him, trying to read his expression. So he was reminiscing on a girl he met and crushed on. But he had feelings for Zoey hadn't he? It must have been hard, falling in love with one girl then remembering another girl he had a crush on.

"How did you meet her?" Nick decided that it would be best to ask. But Ellis itched his head and smiled.

"Well, I was seventeen at the time. My buddies and I opened up our own garage there down 'n Savannah. Keith had his Pa help fund it. My buddy Dave also worked there an' my brother Paul, but most o'the time it was jus' Keith and I. We were workin' on my Ma's truck when she showed up. Keith went out to get a differen' screw driver. He took forever, and when I went out ta see what was takin' him I saw her.

"Now, she wasn't from Georgia. She was a west coast girl. She was tan with blonde hair and green eyes. She had a small chest and big hips but she wasn't like...you know, like all them other west coast girls. Prolly cuz she wasn't _from_ the west coast, she was from Nevada. Vegas I believe." Nick nodded, now imagining a kind of slutty girl who works in a casino. "She was on 'er way ta Florida to meet her friend Lexi when some asshole smashed inna her and totaled her Volkswagen Golf GTI. Cute lil car for the speed and power it gets. It took us prolly three weeks ta get that thing all fixed up brand new for her." Nick whistled and sat with his back to the table.

"I hope she kissed your asses after that. Three weeks total on a freaking car? How much she give you for the repairs?" Ellis sniffed, itching his nose.

"Bout 3 grand US." Nicks eyes widened at that. It sounded like quite a bit seeing how the last car he owned only cost about 1 grand. "Ah, it only cost bout 15 hundred but she kept apologizing about having ta make us work so long on it. Course, it wasn't a straight three weeks. Keith left most o'the work up to me while he kept his girl entertained. But we went out campin' in the woods for a few days. Oh man was that fun." He smiled again that same adorable smile he usually had. "She wasn't like all o'the other girls Keith dated. Where if we all hung out I'd try an' tell him somethin' and she'd innerupt. Or have 'im completely ignore me. This girl was definitely somethin' special. She let me talk, talked to me an' we all hung out. We all shared a tent. She'd sleep between Keith and me cause she was afraid of sleeping in the woods. Well, that night it got really cold, like there was frost an' stuff on the ground. So we all pooled our blankets together and we all slept under the same blankets. We practically sandwiched her. She faced Keith so he could make little kissy faces and rub her ass an' shit like that, but when he fell asleep I snuck in a little romance on her." He grinned. Nick couldn't help but smile as well, not knowing the hick had it in him to sneak a little of the goods from his buddy.

"Come on, details. What did you do? What did you say?" Nick turned to face him. He was hungry for details. Well, not for it to be so detailed that it was like reading a porno book, but still. This was the good part of the story. Ellis returned his smile, obviously proud of himself.

"Well, she was half asleep and Keith was snoring like a bear. To keep from over heatin under the blankets we were in our undergarments, well, she was in a slip like night gown. I couldn't jump righ' inna it so I started it off with a lil conversation. 'He's awfully loud ain't he ma'am.' I said. She giggled lightly and nodded, turning so she was on her back. I could see her eyes in the moonlight. She had some pretty eyes. Emerald green and full pouty lips.

"'You seem smart for being a country boy' she replied. 'how old are you?' so I answered her truthfully.

"'I'm 17 ma'am.' she smiled at that. I didn't know how old she was but she didn't look much older then me.

"'So, are you going to bust the dents out of my cherry and make her pretty again?'" Nicks jaw dropped.

"Are you serious? She said that?" Ellis laughed and nodded.

"Yeah but I know that ain't what she was talkin bout. Ya see, She told Keith an' I the first day she met us that the car was dented ta hell. And Keith made a wise crack an' as a compliment towards me said that I could bust the dents out of a cherry an' make a girl a virgin again, that's how good I was. So I told her I was gonna do more then bust the dents outta her cherry an' she giggled again.

"'You know, my mom always told me to marry a black man so I wouldn't have babies like me, half black and half European.' she seemed upset about that. So I guess that's why she was tan. She was half black, but it was such a pretty color.

"'You marry who yer in love with, not what color they are.' an' I could see her eyes light up. Now was my time ta move in. So gently, I cupped her face an' kissed her forehead. When she returned the kiss to ma chin I knew she wan't gonna push me away. So I worked a lil lower. Getting her forehead again, her nose, her lips, chin then neck. I knew how Keith treated his girls. He was rough and forceful, and judging by the stories he tol' me bout him kissing her, I knew he was the same with her. So I was gonna show her that not all Hicks were primates. That we weren't gonna grab her by the hair an' drag her off like a caveman. She seemed ta enjoy it a bit. She managed to straddle me before Keith woke up." He was silent for a second, looking at Nick's expression. Nick groaned, wincing.

"He kick your ass?" he questioned, imagining Keith shoving the girl off of Ellis and beating the shit out of him, but Ellis shook his head.

"Nah, she told him she had ta go ta the bathroom and decided ta crawl over me instead of pulling the blankets off with her as she went around. But then he asked why I was awake and she told him that she accidentally planted a knee inna my junk cause of the blankets. Keith believed it an' offered ta go out with her and help her find a place ta pee, but I offered instead seeing how I was closest ta the door an all. When we left the tent we found a place outside o' his ear shot and talked. 'Ellis, I'm sorry but, I can't do that with you. As charming as you are.' she looked upset. I knew she couldn't, but there was just...this thing inside o' me that wanted a taste, and tasted somethin amazin.

"'It's cuz you love Keith, I know.' I replied, but when she shook her head, that's when it confused me.

"'Ellis, I have a boyfriend in Nevada.'" Nick's jaw dropped, his eyebrows furrowing.

"What a slut. She just fucked around with two other guys on her boyfriends back!" Ellis shook his head quickly in her defense.

"No, she ain't a slut. She told me her an' her boyfriend were datin' since high school, but the relationship was off an' on because o'her bein' in the military an' him with his _problems_. She said she felt like shit enough that she even had sex with Keith and now she feels worse for making out with me, but she loved Keith. She had stuff in common with both o' us, where as the only thing she had in common with her other boyfriend from Nevada was they were in the same high school. He was a jock and she was an outcast. She didn't even understand how the relationship happened." He went quiet then turned and started picking at the food on his plate. "You ever get that feelin that you're the awful person when you kiss that girl who's got a boyfriend?" He questioned with his mouth full.

"Ellis, you didn't know. Besides, she probably didn't think it would affect her too much, I mean, she did have to go back to Nevada." Swallowing Ellis nodded.

"Yeah, but I felt bad still. I can't believe I forgot her though. O'course, after she left Keith kept talkin' bout her. That's all he talked about for an entire year. So it pissed me off. I told him to shut the fuck up an' get over it. She ain't comin' back, she ain't gonna call you, an' she ain't gonna see you again." he shoved some more food in his mouth.

"Kinda harsh, huh kid?" Nick questioned.

"It pissed me off." He choked a bit, then swallowed. "I didn't wanna hear bout her no more. I mean, sure I spoke about Keith a lot during our zombie parade, but that was because I knew Keith forever an' tellin' stories bout him helped ease my mind. Although it irritated you guys, which I apologize fer that." He tipped his hat a bit.

"Nah, it became interesting after a while."

"But Keith, he had no reason. He knew her fer three weeks, an' jus' told the same story over and over and over again, every day, he'd call me at night to talk bout her an' what he was gonna do once they got together again. I jus'..."

"Couldn't take it anymore." Nick understood. One of his ex-wives did that. She claimed she was just friends with this man she met at work, but all she did was talk about him. Even after sex that's all she spoke about. How funny he was, how good looking he was. It had gotten to the point where Nick wouldn't even get an erection when she came out of the bathroom from her shower in that tiny towel she always used. He didn't even feel aroused. He just wondered over and over again in his head. _I __wonder__ what__ fucking__ story__ she's__ gonna __tell__ me__ now_.

It had gotten so bad that one day when she was at work, he fucked a cocktail waitress down at the bar and came home bragging about how tight she was, and how good it felt. That inevitably ended that marriage, and he was glad about it. About a month later she married her _Mr.__Charming_ and he beat the shit out of her on their honeymoon. He couldn't say it made him happy, but he didn't feel bad for it either. She got what she deserved, just like Keith got Ellis jumping down his throat. It was what he deserved.

"So," Ellis stopped eating, clearing his throat. "Where...you...you know." He seemed hesitant to ask, but Nick was patient, waiting for the hick to spit it out. "Where are ya gonna go?" Ellis questioned. Nick shrugged, playing with one of the rings on his fingers.

"I don't know, probably Vegas where I can make some decent money." Ellis's face twisted a bit when he said _decent_. He knew what the conman meant; just as well as he knew that that decent money wouldn't me made _fairly_.

"You, well...I ain't got no where ta go, so maybe...I could come with ya? I mean, I know Mr. Conman worries bout himself an' no one else but...still. Maybe on days when ya can't get decent money you could still have money to spend? I mean, I heard there ain't a whole bunch o' mechanics down there, an' Vegas has a lot o' accidents what with the drinkin' and drivin'." He trailed off. He knew Nick was going to say no. He knew it, but when the conman smiled and lightly smacked his arm in a buddy buddy way, it shocked him.

"Sure kid, just, don't talk about Keith or I'll rip your tongue out." He stood and fixed his sweat pants. Smiling Ellis nodded and shoved the rest of his food down his throat, choking a bit as he stood up. He followed Nick towards the door to the mess hall, throwing his paper plate away. Nick cuffed him on the back and laughed. "Don't die on me yet kid; you still have to be my cover up for when I suck."


	6. Chapter 6

**Note: I'm not sure if I'm going to keep writing this story. This is the second time rewriting this. I thought no one was reading it at first was because of how badly it was written, and now no one is reading it again. I might write a couple more chapters and if it picks up then I'll keep writing but no one is taking any interest in this again. ****Kind of sad, I haven't failed this hard with any stories yet, lol. Oh well, I guess it was just a bad concept :)**

* * *

><p>Chapter 6<p>

It took a few days to get to Nevada. Apartments that were empty were issued to the survivors and down-payments were made so that they didn't have to worry about finding a house and not being able to pay it off. Nick and Ellis managed to get the last apartment on a fairly nice side of town. It was a good three miles from the nearest casino and they had a month to get a hold of a job.

"Man, that was pretty nice of 'em huh?" Ellis commented, following Nick into their new apartment. He smiled. It was pretty big, a one bedroom apartment. It had a huge living room and a big kitchen. The bathroom was nice as well with a mixed shower and enough space for two people to function in there without getting in each others way. The only downside to that apartment was that one bedroom.

"Yeah, to pay off a month of this apartment and give us a months' worth of food, not to mention some spending cash for work and interview clothes and whatever else we need." Nick put a huge envelope on the counter and opened it, counting how much money they were actually given in spending cash.

"How much we got?" Ellis looked over his shoulder. Nick looked back and jumped, not expecting his face to be right there and snickered.

"Jesus Kid, it's called space, I enjoy mine." Ellis gave him an apologetic smile then looked at the money. "We got one grand. So I get 500 and you get 500." He divided it up and handed Ellis the money. The hick looked at it confused then nodded, folding it up and pocketing it.

"500? Ya think we can do it on half a grand each?" Ellis was hinting at Nick's gambling but the conman just smiled and nodded.

"Of course kid," He stood up and clapped his hand on Ellis's shoulder. "Cause it ain't gonna be just a half a grand for long." He grinned. Ellis felt his smile twist. Grabbing the conman's arm he looked at him in the eyes, sternly.

"You blow all yer money an' bring nothin' home I'll make ya sleep on the couch, ya understand?" Nick smiled and turned, grabbing the hick by the arms, staring into his eyes.

"Have some faith in me will ya, Ellis?" He let go, his voice softer than usual. Ellis was confused, sensing some strange change in Nick, but he didn't mind it. They were out of the fire, but somehow Nick's gaze was still smoldering him.

"Ya waste our money on them damn machines; you won't get so much as a nickel t'play with." Ellis threatened, although he sounded breathless. Nick snickered, almost pinning him to the wall.

"Oh serious?" He replied. Ellis tried to stare back into those green eyes but found that he couldn't. It reminded him of the time Keith's grandma's cats were facing off, establishing dominance between them.

"I'm dead serious." He replied, his eyes going back to the conman's face, only to feel intimidated by that same smile.

"Really? Because your voice has already betrayed that empty threat of yours." Nick pulled away and grabbed his money. "I'll be back tonight, if you feel froggy enough, make up some dinner will you?" He grinned and stepped out, heading for the casino. Ellis just nodded then cursed, running his finger under his nose.

"Shit…asshole." He stood there in the same spot for good two or three minutes, gently wrapping his knuckles on his thigh. "Shit, guess I'mma be the bitch a'gin." Grabbing the phone he pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. It had the phone number of a place that would help him find a job, courtesy of CEDA. He called the number, taking a seat on the couch, his mind focused on Nick. His eyes, his smell, the way his voice was. They all had been through quite a lot within the time they'd been together. Injuries, near death experience. But it was when everything went back to normal that the weird stuff started happening. Things started getting weird after he'd asked Nick if he could live with him. For starters, Nick saying yes was weird, especially seeing how he believed that the conman hated his guts.

They were allowed to share a room in a holding tent, Coach placed with someone else and Rochelle put with another family. Nick decided to give his bed up to a mother and her child, and in return shared a bed with Ellis. The hick didn't mind it, but Nick was acting much nicer than he had been during the struggle with the zombies, but again, an event like that could change a man, but he didn't know how far the kindness went. Nick was still Nick, but he was acting different and he wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not. Yet again, Ellis was different too. He chewed on this thumbnail a bit then groaned, lying on his back. "Can't believe I let'im seduce me like I was some girl." He huffed. A girl answered.

"Hello Welcome to Vegas job hotline. My name is Jolene, how can I service you?" She sounded like a nice woman, and he could tell she had a smile on her face by the tone of her voice.

"Hello Ma'am, my name is Ellis, I'm new ta Vegas an' would like ta find a job. Hopefully you can help me." He smiled.

"Of course sweety, that's why I'm here." She replied. "I would like for you to answer some questions first before I skim through jobs for you alright?"

"Certainly ma'am."

"Alright darling, you said your name was Ellis? Spelt E. L. L. U. S right?" She questioned.

"I.S"

"Oh, I'm so sorry hun." She quickly apologized.

"It's ok, I mean you prolly gotta spell hundreds o'names a day, b'sides, Ellis ain't to common a name, so no need ta beat yerself up over it." He smiled. She giggled on the other side of the phone and continued on.

"Thank you, how old are you hun?" He could hear her clicking away on a computer in the background.

"Twenty three."

"Your Education background, previous job experience and where you were born and raised?" He hesitated wondering which one he should start with then decided to just go in chronological order.

"I was born an' raised in Savannah Georgia, I have an advanced regents diploma in high school n'attended one year of college. When I was 17 years old I helped a buddy o'mine set up a garage. I worked for 6 years as a mechanic." He explained.

"Oh, seems like you got yourself some nice job experience." She commented. "What kind of job are you looking for? Another mechanic?" He nodded.

"Yes ma'am."

"What is your current address and phone number?" He hesitated then sat up, looking at a piece of paper on the coffee table with the apartment information on it.

"Uh…7734 Paradise Road, near the casino an' the shoppin' cen'er. An' my phone number is 306-539-2007." He waited.

"Ok great, I found a garage within walking distance of your apartment Ellis. Very good garage but it's been on the brink of closing down for a year seeing how there's only one guy working on the vehicles. Reviews are all 5 star and he's looking for at least one new mechanic. The state has given him till the end of this month to find one employee to work for him or else he'll be shut down. Would you like to have the number?" Ellis didn't have to think twice about it. His stomach churned at the thought of a man getting his Garage taken away and it made him sick.

"Yes ma'am, I would very much."

"Alright hun," She gave him the number and address, bidding him good luck, telling him that if he has no luck with that job then to call her back and she'd help him out again. Just ask for Jolene. After getting off the phone with her he stood and decided to walk down to the garage instead. It was about a twenty minute walk, but the garage was huge. It had a space to work on two or three cars at a time, a lift and everything, not to mention a car part shop attached right to it. He smiled and practically ran through the door but decided it'd look more professional if he walked in. Keeping his himself level headed he pushed the door open, nstead of that annoying bell that usually went off it was the beginning of Ozzy's Crazy Train. Ellis smiled as he looked back at the door.

"Coo'" He shoved his hands in his pockets and headed for the desk. In the background off through the door into the garage he noticed music playing and knew what song it was right away. Smiling he lipped the words. "Thank you for your sugar, Sugar you brought down the night. I was seeing stars on the bedroom walls, full moon in your eyes. This don't mean nothing, well I'll just pass the time. But part of you I'll take with me, But most I'll leave behind." He stopped and just grinned, waiting. "Midnight Riders, well I'll be a son o'a bitch, this place jus' keeps gettin' better!"

"You must be the type who's easily impressed." A burly man replied, walking out of the next room. He was an older man, probably in his 50's. He wore a white ragged shirt and wore his coveralls around his waist. "What you need?" He questioned, wiping his oil covered hands off on a rag.

"I wanna know if I can work for ya sir." Ellis replied, trying to sound as professional as he can, his excitement bubbling up inside of him.

"You wanna work for me?" He sounded skeptical. He walked over and took a peak out into the parking lot mumbling something to himself. "God damn asshole probably screwing around again." He growled.

"Sir, this ain't no joke, I really wanna work for ya." Ellis insisted. The man turned around and walked over. He backed him up to the counter, staring into his eyes as if he were a dog ready to attack. He continued to stare at him like that for possibly three or four minutes then snorted. Ellis didn't know what to do. He couldn't help but break eye contact, feeling as if he were facing off with Nick all over again.

"You ain't shittin' me?" He growled. Ellis shook his head slowly.

"No sir, I ain't shittin' ya." It was silent then the man backed up and ground his teeth a bit.

"Good, cause I see some good quality in your eyes, hate like hell to lose that." He walked around to the other side of the desk and opened up a filing cabinet. Pulling out an application he slid it across the table and handed Ellis a pen. "When can you work?" He questioned.

"Any time sir, I ain't got nothin' else ta do." Ellis replied, starting to fill out the form, a smile on his face.

"You ain't got a girlfriend or anythin'?" He questioned, leaning against the counter. Ellis just shook his head then looked up.

"No Sir, I'm new ta Nevada." The man nodded.

"Where you from originally?" He spoke with sort of an accent. He sounded more like a biker then a hick.

"Georgia sir, born an' raise in Savannah." He finished up the application and stood up. Removing his hat he ran his fingers through his hair.

"You start tomorrow son," the man replied, tossing the application back into the filing cabinet. Ellis felt his forehead crinkle.

"Ya ain't gon' look at it?" He shook his head, looking at Ellis.

"Nah, I figure you ain't some dummy off the street. You got mechanic calluses, I can see them." He looked at Ellis's hands. "How long you work for anyway?" He questioned. Ellis smiled and replied teasing.

"You'd know if ya looked at my application." The man snickered and growled.

"Don't get smart mouth with me boy! Or you won't get your pay for two months!" Ellis smiled and mock saluted him.

"Yes sir!" Laughing the man reached his hand out to shake the hicks hand.

"My name is Buck Gilligan, yer name?" Ellis looked at the man's hand and grabbed it, shaking it firmly.

"Ellis, you can call me El if ya want, though that name kinda makes me sound like a girl so I prefer Ellis…but if ya wanna call me El, I guess that's ok too." Buck just smiled and nodded slowly.

"You sure like talkin' don't ya?" Ellis swallowed and looked down, recalling what Nick had told him before they left the Evac checkpoint.

"Yeah, my friend thinks so too." Ellis itched his head. Laughing the man clapped his shoulder and smiled at him.

"It's ok kid, better to talk a lot of friendly things then to talk a lot of smack." He grinned. "Now, we got coveralls for you here, pair o'light blue ones, if you don't mind the color." Ellis smiled and shook his head.

"Nah, light blue is a great color. Just dark enough not ta make my butt look big, but light enough ta see the oil smears." Buck looked at him shocked for a second then howled in laughter.

"You sound like my wife tryin' on a new dress!" He continued. Ellis, looked at him confused, going through in his head what he said, trying to see how it matched up to what he was talking about. "My wife, bless her sweet heart," He ran his hand over his bald head and smiled, a twinkle in his eyes. "Always wears dark blue dresses. Says her ass don't look too big but it makes her breasts stick out more. She was always sensitive 'bout her breasts. Says they're too small." Ellis nodded, seeing where it connected now.

"Well, my pa always said 'more than a mouthful's a waste'. But my ma had big ones, so I guess I don't see why he'd say that." Buck laughed again and clapped his shoulder, shaking Ellis a bit.

"Sounds like your pa's a man o' wisdom." Smiling Ellis nodded.

"Yeah, my pa was pretty amazin'. We lived next door ta this mean ol' lady with a nasty dog. One nigh' it wouldn't stop barkin' an' growlin' so my pa wen' out an' shot it." The man looked at him like he was insane.

"What happened then?" He questioned.

"Oh nothin' bad, he blamed it on the neighbor kid on the other side of the house from us, lil' Jona, cuz he'd jus' got a gun fer his birthday, same gun as my pa. Ain't no police gonna arrest a kid fer accidently shootin' a dog. Sure as hell ended the vicious asshole's attacks on me an' my siblin's though." Laughing Buck shook his head, squeezing his shoulder.

"Ellis, I think you an' I are gonna get along jus' fine. You come back in tomorra' an' tell me more o'them stories, you hear?" He pointed a finger in his direction. Smiling Ellis nodded, his eyes glistening. Removing his hat he bowed his head.

"Thank ya Mr. Gilligan,"

"Jus' Buck." Ellis hesitated then nodded, smiling again.

"Thank ya Buck." Turning he headed for the door. Now he got to rub it into Nick's face that he had a _real_job.

The walk home was pleasant. A lot of people walked by and smiled when he did. He'd bow his head to a few girls on the way and tipped his hat greeting them with a _Good__evenin__' __ladies_which caused them to titter amongst themselves as they walked by. When Ellis got home he cooked up something quick and cheap. He didn't have the utensils to cook up something huge, nor the consciousness for it. He was tired from his long flight. Not to mention the promise of sleeping in a normal, comfortable bed as opposed to sleeping on a cot or on a safe house floor or piss or blood covered old mattress.

After cooking up dinner he took a shower and sat on the couch. It was time to relax. Flipping the TV on he watched a couple TV shows. There wasn't anything in particular that was good on TV. Mainly a lot of shows that involved gambling where as Ellis enjoyed Nascar or derbies, even monster trucks. So he settled with a movie about a Mafia member who was out to be _whacked_. He watched it with little interest until he began making comparisons to Nick.

They were both shady guys, but with the main characters back story, Ellis could understand why he acted the way he did. But what was Nick's excuse? Maybe Nick had the same past? If not the same, then maybe a similar one? One full of betrayal and anger. Watching the credits roll the door opened. It was about 2 in the morning and Ellis hadn't noticed the time go by so quickly.

"Hey overalls." Nick greeted, smiling. He kicked off his shoes and walked over, plopping down on the sofa next to him, tossing a wad of cash in his lap. Ellis jumped a bit and looked down. Picking it up he looked at it curiously then up at Nick.

"What's this?"

"Count it overalls, don't just sit there and warm it up." Smiling he put a paper bag on the coffee table in front of them and pulled out wine glasses.

"What's that for?" Ellis looked at the glasses.

"Count the money overalls, then you'll be able to see what these are for." Nick repeated, getting a bit irritated. Looking down Ellis unfolded the wad and started counting through. "So, how much is there?" Nick sat back proudly, a smile on his face once Ellis finished, knowing just how much was there.

"Uh…two thousand?" Ellis looked at him confused.

"And here is the five hundred I started out with." He grinned, handing him the five hundred. Ellis looked down at it confused before it clicked.

"You won two thousand extra dollars?" He hooted, smiling. Nick grinned.

"Not bad for the first night eh kid?"

"I mean you _won_ it?" Nick cocked an eyebrow.

"No kid, I beat down a 10 year old on his bike as he road by the casino and stole it, of course I won it! Would you have some faith in me?" Grabbing another paper bag by him he rolled it down, revealing a glass bottle. It was a fancy looking drink that caught Ellis's attention.

"Wazzat?" Ellis leaned forward, putting the money on the table. Pouring two glasses Nick handed one to Ellis and smiled.

"A toast to celebrate." He smiled. Ellis smiled, the smell of fruit and alcohol reaching his nose. It was a ritzy drink, one that he probably wouldn't have even been able to dream of drinking.

"How much this cost?" Ellis smiled smelling it. "It smells damn good."

"It was free from a cocktail waitress at the casino. As a _welcome__to__Vegas_ token." He replied, taking a deep swig of his. He held his breath as he swallowed, his eyes closing. Sighing in relief he let his head fall back against the back of the couch.

"A cocktail waitress eh?" Ellis grinned at him. "Bet she fell all over you like rain ta a roof huh?" He nudged him taking a swig to mirror Nicks. The liquor burned his throat, bringing tears to his eyes as the flavor of fruit rushed his mouth. He coughed as it made his chest flare up with heat.

"Easy kid, this isn't water." Nick smiled, patting his back.

"Ain't…never drink this kinda stuff." Ellis wheezed. "Can handle beer, that's bout all I drank, but this is…wa." He pounded a fist against his chest, smiling.

"Too strong for ya kid?" Nick teased.

"Nah, just…not expectin' it." He muttered in return looking down at it. He sipped at it. "Now, tell me bout yer waitress." He smiled turning to give Nick his full attention. "She purty?"

"Oh yeah," Nick grinned looking up at the ceiling. "Only the finest in Vegas."

"She try to get in your pants?" Ellis pushed, smiling.

"Nope." He looked down at his glass with a disappointed expression.

"You try ta get in hers?" Ellis guessed. Inhaling deeply Nick grunted on the exhale, nodding.

"And she said no. But she didn't waste time in teasing me for the rest of the damn visit." He muttered, guzzling down the rest of the glass. "Gave me this bottle as a _sorry__for__the__boner_ apology." Ellis frowned, his expression twisting at that. He didn't know how hard it was. He never had sex before, or as his Ma had put it 'skirt chasing'.

"Sorry bout that Nick." He muttered.

"Don't be kid, isn't the first time I've been shot down, won't be the last." He smiled and clasped him on the arm. Smiling Ellis nodded, taking another drink of his glass. "How'd it go for you?" Nick questioned, pouring himself another drink. Ellis had been so caught up in the fact Nick returned with more money than he started out that he'd forgotten about his own day.

"Oh it went great!" Ellis smiled swallowing the mouthful of liquor he had. "Got a job, startin' tomorrow!"

"Really? No interview first?" Nick seemed shocked but happy for the kid. Or as happy as Nick showed.

"Nope, just walked in, flashed my charm an' got the job. Said I'd start out bright'n early tomorrow." He downed the rest of his drink and shuttered.

"Don't you think you should get some sleep then?" Nick cocked an eyebrow watching as Ellis grabbed the bottle for another drink.

"Nah, I got it. I used to run on only 2 hours of sleep b'fore the zombies hit Savannah, ain't gonna hurt ta have a few drinks with my buddy." He smiled taking a drink from his glass. He was starting to get used to the burning in his chest and throat, but that wasn't the only change he noticed from the liquor, but his calm, blurred mind.

"If you insist." Nick smiled in return. "Hey, now that you're here kid, how about we head out to dinner this week? I stopped by a sandwich at this nice little eatery before coming home. Nice food, friendly service." He smiled. "Properly celebrate our zombie free lives. Ellis looked at him, surprised that he would ask him to go to dinner with him, but it did sound nice.

"Sounds good. How bout Saturday? Tha's when the garage is closed down fer Saturday nice and Sunday."

"Sounds good kid." He smiled, resting an arm around his shoulders. Grabbing the remote he looked at the television and changed the channel to a peaceful light show, music playing. Ellis felt himself relax as he rested backwards. Nick gently rapped his thumb on his shoulder to the beat of the drums. It was a slow song with pretty lyrics. It was calming, the singer a woman with such a soft and enchanting voice. Before he knew it, his head was rested on Nick's shoulder. Nick had his eyes closed, his lips moving, gently singing with the song. "I believe the world it spins for you. We will never be, I am the moon. I believe the world it spins for you. We will never be, I am the moon. I long to be a part, I isolate my heart. You've drawn me into you world, now I too spin limbless. One hand clapping, where's the wind. I stand spanning at your distant wings. I believe the world it spins for you. We will never be, I am the moon."

"You like this kin'a music Nick?" Ellis looked up at him, not minding that his head was rested partially on the older man's chest/shoulder.

"I used to listen to this a lot with my ex wife. Kind of created a fondness for it I guess, after a long day, I like to listen to something soft to calm my nerves." He admitted letting his head fall over, resting against Ellis's. The smell of alcohol on Nick's breath confirmed that he was indeed drunker than the hick, which might have been a good thing. If Nick had been sober and Ellis laid his head on his shoulder chances are the kid would have left with a bloody lip. He must have been drinking while gambling as well.

"Let's go to bed." Ellis spoke after a second of silence. That got Nick's attention.

"What? Whoa kid, you're cute and all but-"

"Wha? I din't mean it like that Nick." Ellis's face scrunched up. Nick noted the look of what he translated to be disgust on the hicks face. Part of him felt depressed. Living a life like he had, impulsively, Nick had a numbed preference for his sexual partners. Sure he liked women, he liked them a lot, but when on the run and horny as hell he wasn't going to be picky. He's fucked plenty of men in his time, a number that would convince even a gay man he wasn't straight, but he didn't think of it as gay or straight, he thought of it as human. He was one to give into his animalistic urges. If he wanted something but couldn't afford it, he stole it. If someone threatened him, he killed them. If he was horny and someone was willing, he'd have sex with them. It was how he worked.

It took Nick by shock when Ellis offered to go to bed. He half hoped his story about being refused a good lay was enough to win the mechanic over, but to see that the thought of it disgusted the mechanic was depressing. He knew that if the kid was like that, then he'd be screwed if _every_ woman he encountered refused sex. If the kid allowed him then Nick wouldn't need to look for a fresh body so often, not when he had the firmly fit mechanic…

"Alright that's what I thought. Scared me for a second kid." He grinned. "Let's head to bed." Grabbing the remote he clicked the TV off and sat up. It took Ellis a bit of force to push himself off of Nick enough to take their glasses to the sink and wash them as Nick re-corked the liquor and put it in the fridge. Putting the glasses down to dry Ellis removed his shirt, getting ready for bed as he headed for the bedroom. Nick looked at him noting his well developed body. This would have been the first to see the kid this nude, and he wasn't exactly hating it. "Damn kid, make an old man jealous." He snickered, hoping that Ellis wouldn't catch on and call him old. The hick stopped and looked back at him confused then smiled.

"Aw c'mon Nick, I'm sure yer not that bad." He rubbed his arms, looking at him.

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch." Nick muttered, removing his T-shirt to reuse it in the morning. Ellis looked at him, heat flushing to his cheeks. Nick didn't notice the mechanic's staring right away as he undid the draw string on his sweatpants and slipped them down. He stopped and looked at him. "Ellis." Ellis blinked looking up at him.

"Huh?"

"Huh?" Nick mocked, snickering. "You ok? You look like you're about to explode." Nick smiled. He knew what was going on. He could see the look in the kids eyes. Some part of him was bi-curious, even if the hick wasn't aware of it. Walking towards him he rested a hand on Ellis's shoulder, rubbing it a bit. "If you puke, puke on your side of the bed." He replied simply. Ellis's skin was baby smooth, a trait he found hard to find in even women. If Nick had been a little more drunk he would have pounced the kid and made love to him with the excuse of being shit-faced, but he wasn't. Damn shame too.

"I ain't gonna puke." Ellis huffed a bit, blushing. Grabbing his sweatpants he pulled them off, hanging them up on the back of a chair in the room. Both of them were wearing boxers supplied by CEDA, so naturally they were cheap and they had to be careful of their genitals falling out the slit in the front. Climbing in bed Ellis squirmed, getting comfortable. Moaning deeply he stretched. "Hot damn this is bout the comfiest bed I slept on in a long time." He smiled looking up at Nick who was standing at the foot of the bed.

"Well move over, I'm not going to sleep on the bed-stand." He waved his hand, motioning for Ellis to scoot over. Smiling Ellis rolled over onto his side, allowing enough room for Nick to crawl in. Climbing in Nick got himself cozy under the blankets before moaning. Closing his eyes he let his body begin relaxing. He was already beginning to fall asleep when he felt the bed shake. Hot flesh moved over him resting against his chest. His eyes snapped open. Above him was Ellis setting the only alarm clock on his end-stand. Reaching up he rested a hand on his waist and grunted. "You fall on me and I'll sock you."

"I ain't gonna fall on ya." Ellis smiled and slid back into place. Rolling over he rested his hat on the bedpost and stretched a final time. "G'night Nick." He yawned. Nick looked over at him and itched his head.

"Night kid." But Ellis was already passed out, breathing lightly. Reaching up Nick shifted over closer to the hick, wrapping an arm around him. Shifting in his sleep Ellis cuddled up to him, his face buried in his side, his lips pressed against his left breast. Smiling Nick rolled his eyes and held him, listening to the silence, staring off into the dark until sleep overwhelmed him, falling into a deep, peaceful sleep.


End file.
